The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has warned that the country's heavy dependence on imported medicines poses a growing threat to national security and has called for strategic investments to strengthen local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

According to the Society, about 70 per cent of the medicines used in hospitals and community pharmacies across the country are imported, while only 30 per cent are produced locally.

President of the Society, Dr (Pharm.) Paul Owusu Donkor, said Ghana's continued reliance on global supply chains for essential medicines leaves the country vulnerable to external shocks and disruptions.

"If we continue to rely on global supply chain systems for our medicines, then we are compromising our national security," he cautioned.

Dr Donkor made the remarks during a commemorative engagement at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi as part of activities marking the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana's 90th anniversary celebrations.

He called on the government and other stakeholders to deliberately invest in the local pharmaceutical industry to boost domestic production and reduce the country's dependence on imports.

According to him, achieving a target of producing 70 per cent of Ghana's pharmaceutical needs locally would require significant investment in manufacturing infrastructure, capital, land access, technology and human resource development.

Dr Donkor said a stronger pharmaceutical industry could position Ghana as a manufacturing hub for medicines in West Africa.

"Health is wealth, as we have said many times. Now, pharmaceutical care needs are also a national security issue. We want to see a Ghana that produces 70 per cent of its pharmaceutical needs locally," he said.

The Society also expressed concern over the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), attributing the public health challenge partly to the misuse of medicines and the circulation of counterfeit and substandard pharmaceutical products.

According to the Society, between 4,900 and 6,200 people in Ghana die each year from infections directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance.

Dr Donkor explained that underserved rural and peri-urban communities remain particularly vulnerable because limited access to healthcare services often creates opportunities for illegal medicine vendors to thrive.

"Sometimes, underserved peri-urban and rural communities become a vacuum that is filled by medicine peddlers dealing in counterfeit, fake, spurious and substandard medicines," he said.

He called for stricter surveillance and enforcement by regulatory bodies, including the Pharmacy Council and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), to curb the manufacture, importation and sale of falsified medicines.

"The regulators must continue to crack the whip on persons who bring these falsified medicines into our supply chain system. That is how we can uproot the menace of antimicrobial resistance," he stated.

Dr Donkor emphasised that pharmacists play a critical role in antimicrobial stewardship but stressed that tackling antimicrobial resistance requires coordinated action by regulators, healthcare institutions and government.

"If a medicine is not in the hands of a pharmacist but falls into the hands of quacks, then we will lose the fight against antimicrobial resistance," he warned.