Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has developed a framework to guide investors building new pharmaceutical factories, as government tries to raise local production from about 30% of the country’s medicine needs to 60-70%.
The government is pursuing a five-year strategic plan to strengthen the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry to enable the country to produce a greater proportion of the medicines it currently imports.
Dr George Sabblah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, described the framework at the 2026 AGM and Scientific Conference of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (Ghana Chapter) in Accra. He spoke on behalf of the FDA’s Chief Executive Officer.
What investors would go through
Under the framework, investors planning a new facility would move through construction, equipment installation, qualification, process validation and non-commercial trial batches. Only after that would they apply to the FDA for a good manufacturing practice (GMP) licence.
Dr Sabblah said the FDA has already engaged industry on the approach.
“This approach will provide a clear and predictable pathway for investors,” he said. It would reduce regulatory uncertainty and help new facilities get established on time, supporting local production of essential medicines and what he called “medicine security”.
Why it matters
Ghana’s local production meets only about 30% of its needs, Dr Sabblah said. It produces no pharmaceutical raw materials or active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and makes no vaccines, medical devices or in-vitro diagnostics, so it depends heavily on imports. He said the 60-70% target would strengthen health security, create jobs and build a competitive industry. The government did not give a date for it in his remarks.
A GMP deadline for existing companies
The framework sits alongside a GMP roadmap the FDA has agreed with local industry. It targets compliance by all pharmaceutical companies by the end of next year. Dr Sabblah said the roadmap is meant to address GMP deficiencies, strengthen quality management systems and ensure locally made products meet national and international standards.
Ghana plans to move towards local vaccine production in 2027. Dr Sabblah said that makes regulatory oversight more important. The FDA has increased its staff and opened a vaccine lot release laboratory to support regulatory decisions on vaccines. He said these steps are in line with World Health Organization standards, so locally made vaccines meet international standards before release.
What each side is expected to do
Vaccines raise the stakes
Dr Sabblah said the FDA is strengthening its regulatory system to support local manufacturing, with policy backing from the Ministry of Health. Industry, he said, is expected to invest in quality management systems and workforce development.
