Government targets stronger local pharmaceutical manufacturing, lower medicine costs and improved health security
ACCRA, Ghana — August 16, 2026: President John Dramani Mahama has announced a five-year strategy to significantly reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported medicines by expanding domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.
The President disclosed that Ghana currently imports about 70 per cent of the medicines consumed in the country, despite possessing the technical and industrial capacity to manufacture many of these products locally.
Mahama made the announcement during a Free Primary Healthcare programme at the Zuarungu Health Centre in the Upper East Region, explaining that the five-year pharmaceutical self-sufficiency plan had been developed with input from the National Vaccine Institute, Ministry of Health and other pharmaceutical-sector stakeholders.
Under the initiative, government intends to strengthen local manufacturers to increase production for Ghana’s domestic market while positioning the industry to export medicines to neighbouring countries. Increased local production is also expected to lower procurement costs and improve the availability of essential medicines under the government’s Free Primary Healthcare Programme.
The initiative forms part of a broader government drive to strengthen Ghana’s health security and reduce vulnerability to disruptions in international pharmaceutical supply chains. It also aligns with President Mahama’s recent call for African countries to invest more aggressively in domestic pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing.
For Ghana’s pharmaceutical industry, the five-year programme could represent a major shift from heavy import dependence toward local production, industrial expansion, job creation and greater pharmaceutical self-sufficiency.