In a noteworthy development, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commissioned a state-of-the-art edifice to serve as the headquarters of the National Vaccine Institute.
The construction of this facility is being hailed as a significant stride towards ensuring the country’s ability to manufacture its own vaccines.
In a statement delivered during the commissioning ceremony on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, President Akufo-Addo highlighted his government’s determination to ensure that Ghana is never again a victim or a pawn of the international vaccine order.
President Akufo-Addo expressed his recognition of the crucial importance of vaccines, particularly those aimed at combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. He underscored that Ghana’s excessive dependence on foreign entities to secure these vaccines is not a viable and enduring solution.
He went on to explain that vaccine nationalism played out by the developed world during the COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for Ghana to take its destiny into its own hands.
President Akufo-Addo set up the Vaccine Manufacturing Committee in February 2021, which has now been transformed into the National Vaccine Institute by Act of Parliament.
The President also used the opportunity to inaugurate the Governing Board of the Institute.
It is chaired by Dr. Anarfi Asamoa-Baah, and has Prof. William Ampofo, Dr. Baffuor Awuah, Mr. Mustapha Tawiah Kumah, Dr. Daniel Gyingiri Achel, Ms Frederica Sala Illiasu, Dr. Delese Darko, Prof. Alex Dodoo, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Mr. Kofi Nsiah-Poku, Prof. Kofi Opoku Nti, Prof. Gordon A. Awandare, and Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson as Members.
