Mahama calls for African health sovereignty, boosts local medicine production
President John Dramani Mahama has called for stronger efforts towards African health sovereignty, stressing the need for the continent to reduce its dependence on imported medicines and strengthen local healthcare systems.
He made the call at the 28th Annual Conference of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Accra.
According to President Mahama, health sovereignty does not mean isolation but rather the ability of African countries to meet the healthcare needs of their people confidently and competently through mutually respectful partnerships.
He said Africa must invest in its health workforce, mobilise sustainable financing, expand local production of medicines, vaccines and health technologies, and develop reliable health data systems.
President Mahama disclosed that about 70 percent of the medicines consumed within Ghana’s health system are currently imported, describing the situation as one that requires urgent action.
He said the government has consequently developed a five-year plan to reverse the trend and ensure that at least 70 percent of medicines consumed in Ghana are produced locally.
“We’ve come up with a five-year plan to make sure that we reverse that, and that at least 70% of the medicines we consume must be produced locally in Ghana,” President Mahama said.
He further stressed the importance of strong governance, ethical standards and effective regulation in achieving sustainable health sovereignty.
President Mahama said strong, independent and adequately resourced regulatory institutions would be critical to ensuring that locally produced medicines and health technologies meet the required standards and protect public health.
He urged African countries to make health sovereignty a strategic priority by strengthening domestic capacity while maintaining productive partnerships with the international community.
The President said the continent’s ability to respond effectively to current and emerging health challenges would depend largely on building resilient health systems that can meet local needs and reduce excessive reliance on external sources.
