Investors have signalled interest in the pharmaceutical industry, as government envisages increasing local production to help reduce the import bill of approximately 70 percent of the total healthcare consumption.
Currently, the pharmaceutical industry is working toward increasing local production, with the announcement of a US$321million 60-ha pharmaceutical park to be built in the Dawa Industrial Zone in the Greater Accra region, with the goal of producing between 60 percent and 80 percent of the country’s pharmaceutical needs.
Speaking at the launch of the West Africa Pharma Healthcare (WAPHC) Exhibition, the Project Director, Thomas James, said investors across the globe have registered interest in Ghana’s pharmaceutical industry through the WAPHC event.
“As the first-ever health business event/forum that brings together the key decision-makers and captains of the health industry, hosting about 100 exhibitors in the expo from India, Turkey, USA, Egypt, Italy, Ghana and other countries, and 5000+ visitors from Ghana and West Africa, the exhibition is a must-attend global event in the healthcare calendar; and offers an ideal environment for companies to showcase their products, and for the pharmaceutical and medical healthcare industry of the country to visit and connect with global suppliers and solution providers in the space to explore space for improvement and innovation in the medical healthcare sector of Ghana,” he said.
According to the 2022 Oxford report, Ghana is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients, placing it in a good position to establish itself as a leader in the region’s generic drugs market.
Mr. James noted that increasing investment into the industry would help to reduce Ghana’s pharmaceutical import bill, which reached an estimated US$263million in 2019, greatly outweighing the country’s drug exports of about US$3.8million.
Industry data reveals that in 2020, pharmaceutical sales hit GH¢2.7bn (US$461.7million), expected to increase to GH¢2.9bn (US$496million) in 2021. Furthermore, this figure is expected to reach GH¢4billion (US$684million) by 2025.
WAPHC Exhibition
The WAPHC event is in line with the vision of government to build a robust healthcare system and infrastructure in the country, and facilities for every stakeholder in the industry. This will take place from April 27-29, 2022 in Accra, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The investors are converging at the West Africa Pharma Healthcare (WAPHC) Exhibition, which will bring together the manufacturers, exporters, wholesalers, dealers and distributors of pharmaceuticals; and medical diagnostic industry, pharmaceutical machinery, hospitals and influential decision-makers in the West African region.
It will have seminars and conferences running concurrently for two days of the event, to bring and discuss thoughts, ideas innovations and issues related to the sector to government ministries, departments and agencies, along with the suggestions and way forward to discuss and improvise the sector.
