UNGA81: Mahama pushes local pharmaceutical production to reduce donor dependence

President John Dramani Mahama has called for stronger local capacity to produce essential medicines and other health commodities, saying countries in the Global South must reduce their reliance on foreign donors.

He made the call in New York while launching the High-Level Panel Report of the Accra Reset, ‘A Sovereign Future for Health’, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

According to President Mahama, sustainable health systems cannot be built when countries remain dependent on external support for critical medicines and other essential supplies.

He said Ghana’s health-sector reset must therefore prioritise the development of a strong domestic pharmaceutical industry capable of meeting the country’s essential medicine needs.

“When we say we’re resetting Ghana’s health sector, we do not mean simply building medical facilities and waiting for foreign donors to supply the essential vaccines or IV fluids and medicines,” he said.

President Mahama said the government must instead create the conditions for local pharmaceutical companies to manufacture essential medicines, supported by guaranteed state purchasing and access to regional markets.

“We mean building local industry capacity, encouraging our domestic pharmaceutical companies in Ghana to manufacture the essential medicines locally, backed by guaranteed state purchasing and regional market access,” he stated.

He said building local production capacity would give Ghana and other developing countries greater control over their health systems and reduce vulnerability to changes in external funding and priorities.

President Mahama further argued that the push for local production must form part of a broader transformation of the global health system.

“A national reset without a global reset leaves us building on shifting sands. Likewise, a global reset without domestic discipline is unfeasible. They are two sides of the same coin,” he said.

The ‘A Sovereign Future for Health’ report contains 10 practical recommendations aimed at reforming global health architecture and strengthening the capacity of countries in the Global South to build more resilient health systems.