The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana says the government must show commitment by providing the manufacturers with all the equipment required to set up a vaccine manufacturing base in Ghana.
The Association says it is ready to start the production but if the government fails to do its part, there would be catastrophic failure to the project.
This call is coming on the back of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s promise to inject a seed fund of $25 million into the setting up of the National Vaccine Institute.
The Executive Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana, Lucia Addae, speaking on the 3FM’s Sunrise morning show said: “The engagement is on the roadmap to ensure that whichever company is investing into Covid-19 vaccines manufacturing will actually have government procure from that company.
“So whether it is a consortium of companies or one company, government would ensure that money is put in to hurdle; of course the equipment coming would have VAT and other benefits being subsidized.
“The investment has not yet started but once it starts or we start the engagement, we would ensure that anything that is needed by the government would give it to us so that this will become a success because if not we will have serious challenges.”
Currently, there is a company in Ghana producing vaccines including anti-snake venom but not for Covid-19.
Further engagement is also ongoing to ensure that government procure vaccines and subsidize them since they are not sold in the open market.
According to the pharmaceutical manufacturers, there would be no need to import or rely on donor countries for the supply of vaccines if we had the system in place.
“It is important that Ghana will ensure that when it comes to medicine security, we have that self-sufficiency that we don’t need to rely on donors or other countries to take care of us.”
Meanwhile, 3FM is learning that consultation has started between the government and the manufacturers since the setting up of the Professor Frimpong Boateng Committee.
