About 98% of all medical devices, disposables and equipment products used in Ghana are said to be imported.

These include medical consumables, diagnostic imaging equipment, dental devices, orthopedic products, and prosthetics, among others.

This is according to data from the Federation of Africa Medical Equipment, Disposables, and Devices, Manufacturers and Suppliers (FOAMEDDMS).

The Chief Executive Officer of FOAMEDDMS, Anthony Ameka was speaking at a forum organised by the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) in Accra.

He said medical devices constitute the largest product area, accounting for over 60% of all importations within the health sector.

He indicated that the medical devices market in Africa is expected to reach US$7.1 billion by the end of 2023, up from US$4.9 billion dollars in 2017.

Mr. Ameka further lament the absence of local producers in the medical devices industry and called for rapid action from relevant partners to whip up local production.

The CEO also urged the Indian investors to boost investment in the medical consumables, equipment, and devices industry by partnering with local counterparts as Ghana has a strong growth prospect, fuelled by the expansion of health infrastructure.

The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana Samuel Donkor in his address called on the Indian pharmaceutical companies to rely on Ghanaian human resources to build capacity.

He laments the situation where companies bring in expatriates to manage pharma businesses Ghanaian pharmacists can manage.

“A request to you to support the development of industrial pharmacists for our local manufacturing companies. Cooperation should also include building human resource capacity with emphasis on enhancing the technical knowledge required to set up and run a manufacturing plant to develop products that meet the regulatory requirement for marketing authorization,” he said.

The India-Ghana summit dubbed India-Ghana PHARMA BUSINESS MEET was organised under the auspices of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) and the Indian High Commission in Ghana.

The forum also availed the opportunity for pharmaceutical and Healthcare industry players from both Ghana and India to build bonds with the ultimate aim of partnership for local production as well as importation.

Meanwhile, the Pharmaceutical export promotion council of India as well as the Ministry of Commerce of India also award some individuals as well as organizations for their contributions to promoting the pharmaceutical sector in both countries. 

Some of the award winners were the former Chief Executive officer of Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy and now-FOAMEDDMS CEO, Anthony Ameka.

Others are PGSgh president, FDA, and Chairman of GNCOP.