COLLABORATE TO PRODUCE ESSENTIAL DRUGS LOCALLY (PAGE 3, AUGUST 14, 2010)

President John Evans Atta Mills has challenged pharmacists to collaborate with research institutions to produce essential drugs locally.
He said pharmacists in partnership with the government could transform the pharmaceutical industry to “make Ghana the India of Africa in so far as the production of medicines is concerned”.
In an address read on his behalf at the 75th anniversary of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) in Kumasi, President Mills assured the society of his government’s support to make Ghana take her rightful place in the production and export of essential medicines.
He said the government would provide the enabling regulatory and investment environment to enable the pharmaceutical industry to thrive.
“Our expectation is that members of your society would work hard and form local and international partnerships to bring in the necessary financial and technical resources to make Ghana a world leader in the production and export of pharmaceuticals.”
The diamond jubilee celebration of the PSGH was on the theme: “PSGH @75: Celebrating the Contributions of Pharmacists to National Development.”
It was attended by many dignitaries including the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and Mr Clavender Bright Parker, the Liberian ambassador to Ghana. The Asantehene was honoured with an honorary associate member of the PSGH.
He was presented with a plaque and a citation for his meaningful contributions to the development of both education and health in the country.
President Mills said since the government could not lead in initiating the production of essential medicines for both local consumption and export alone, “ contributions from pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists should never be exhausted”.
President Mills commended the PSGH for their contributions to the sustainable socio-economic development of the country, “especially those who use their personal resources to provide the much needed medicines for pregnant women in need or children whose parents cannot afford an essential medicine”.
The President of the PSGH, Dr Alexander Nii Oto Dodoo, said without pharmacists, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) would neither have taken off nor survived.
Dr Dodoo said pharmacists and the PSGH were alarmed that “some of the laws completely ignore pharmacy, whilst others do not reflect the views, wishes of the whole body of pharmacy”.
Responding to the honour bestowed on him, Otumfuo Osei Tutu commended the PSGH for their contribution to national development, and encouraged them to delve into programmes that would make it possible for them to expand their horizons.
He pointed out that such initiatives would make it possible for them to meet the challenges in the industry. Otumfuo Osei Tutu also challenged them to wage war against the flooding of the local markets with fake drugs, stressing that the influx of fake drugs into the country was too alarming.