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July 21, 2026
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Health Minister calls for increased production and consumption of African-made medicines
Money
Policy
Opportunity
Growth
Key Points
- Ghana’s Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akando, urged African countries to prioritize continent-wide production and consumption of medicines.
- He highlighted Africa's dangerous overdependence on external sources for essential medicines, exposed by recent global health crises.
- The Minister called for stronger commitment from African governments to invest in local pharmaceutical manufacturing, regulatory harmonisation, and resilient supply chains.
- He stressed that this initiative would enhance health security, reduce vulnerability to global supply chain disruptions, and support economic growth and self-reliance.
- These remarks were made at the Africa Union Extraordinary Health Summit in Accra, which also aims to advance Universal Health Coverage and end AIDS/TB by 2030.
Why This Matters
As the host nation and with its Health Minister leading the call, Ghana is at the forefront of advocating for increased local pharmaceutical production in Africa. This initiative holds significant potential to boost Ghana's domestic pharmaceutical industry, create jobs, and enhance its national health security and economic resilience by reducing reliance on imported medicines.
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