Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the presidential advisor on health, has stated that government has rolled out a road map to build local capacity for the manufacture of vaccines in the country following the outbreak of the COVID 19.
The presidential advisor on health revealed this in an interview while speaking on the need to build local capacity to manufacture vaccines in the country.
“As the president has always been saying, we want to turn this crisis into an opportunity, in fact his excellency the president has formed a committee, which I happen to be a member, chaired by Prof Frimpong Boateng, and we have been charged to come out with the production of vaccines in this country for the sub region,” he said.
“What we want to do is to position Ghana in such a way that we can be a manufacturer of vaccines not only for COVID-19 but all other vaccines for the Africa Region, this is what we are doing, we have started work and we believe that we will get there,” he said.
He said government is prepared to tap into the expertise of Ghanaian scientists across the globe to make the manufacturing of vaccines a reality.
“At least, if for nothing at all we should be able to package these vaccines, that’s the beginning of how to make vaccines like the Indians have been doing. We have Ghanaian scientists all over the world, we will bring them back home to come and assist with the knowledge they have acquired,” he added.
The Presidential advisor on health is optimistic Ghana will soon be less dependent on other countries for vaccines with the manufacturing of locally made vaccines.
“There is a plan already, we have started working, we are going to work and come out with a good plan that will be implemented. Who knew ever that Ghana could make its own PPEs; now we are manufacturing our own PPEs which has been accepted by the Ghana Standards Authority and the Foods and Drugs Authority,” he stated.
Meanwhile government is hoping to begin vaccination of the Ghanaian populace against COVID-19 in the first week of March.
