GHANA – Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has ordered the establishment of an advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing hub named Pharma Park to promote local pharmaceutical production in the country.

The pharmaceutical industry will partner with the Pharmaceutical Chamber to create Pharma Park in the industrial zone with accessible lands for the pharmaceutical sector to set up manufacturing factories.

The Government intends to bolster the growth of the manufacturing and the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Ghana to help create employment opportunities along with maximizing the value of locally available resources.

Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry Hon. Herbert Krapa said the ultra-modern infrastructure is expected to incentivize and entice up-and-coming business people to come into the Ghanaian manufacturing space.

Moreover, the government is currently working to develop a policy called the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Development Policy to attract domestic and international investments into the pharmaceutical industry.

Drug manufacturers will also continue joint ventures with international partners in a profitable manner once the policy is fully operational to promote pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ghana,” Hon. Herbert Krapa said.

Additionally, the Ghanaian Government introduced the 1-District 1-Factory programme which ensures that pharmacies’ imports as well as inputs including equipment and machinery are duty-free, quota-free and 5 years corporate tax holidays.

If the pharmacy is an indigenous Ghanaian company, the establishment can take a loan from any of the participating financial institutions and banks under the 1-D 1-F which includes a 50% subsidy of the company’s loan interest,” added Herbert Krapa.

Ghana receives COVID-19 response items from Korea

Meanwhile, the Ghanaian Ministry of Health has procured 286,725 units of COVID-19 testing and vaccination supplies with support from the South Korean Government to help improve on the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 response items include 63,000 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) diagnostic test kits, 63,000 COVID-19 PCR swabs,150,000 syringes, 10,625 safety boxes and 100 vaccine carriers at the cost of US$748,000.

Ghana purchased the COVID-19 medical supplies through a grant from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) including an additional a grant aid of US$747,500 for the procurement of vaccines to support the vaccination drive in the country.

Additionally, the ministry is collaborating with two active Korean government agencies in the health sector namely the KOICA and the Korea Foundation for KOFIH to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

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