The Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana has commenced a survey to ascertain the number of unregistered pharmaceutical products in the country.

According to the Chamber, the report seeks to raise public awareness to ensure patients safety and also improve the sector’s contribution to GDP.

The pharmaceuticals industry is expected to exceed $1 billion in value by the end of 2019, but the influx of unregistered products onto the market is hampering the growth of the sector.

Speaking to JoyBusiness, Chairman of the Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana, Harrison Abutiate said the Chamber “seeks to conduct a survey to throw a spotlight on the supply chain system to ensure that stakeholders operate under the ambit of transparency and real value for money to improve the sector’s market offerings.”

The Chamber, at the initial stages of the report, has also identified high fees charged by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) as being a disincentive for individuals and companies to register their pharmaceutical products. Citing Ghana’s fees as the second highest in Africa, Mr Abutiate is urging the FDA to review its charges to improve compliance.

“If the fee is too much, people may not pay and those who don’t pay will find other ways to bring the drugs into the system; again, if the fees are too high, the chances are that we get fake and unauthorized products in the market and government will lose income flow,” he said.

The Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana has partnered with a consultant from the University of Ghana Business School under the ‘Pharmaceutical Watch Project’ funded by DANIDA, UKAID and European Union to disseminate the Report of the Baseline Survey.

The findings of the report are expected to be realized by July this year, the Chamber has said.