President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged the newly inaugurated Board of the National Vaccine Institute with the crucial task of prioritizing Ghana’s self-sufficiency and reducing the nation’s reliance on external sources for critical vaccines.
The esteemed Board, chaired by the highly regarded Dr. Anarfi Asamoah Baah, Head of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, was sworn in during a ceremony held in Accra.
In his address, the President emphasized the need for the Institute to accelerate the country’s capacity to manufacture its own vaccines.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the critical need for vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, and stressed that the nation’s over-reliance on foreign entities for vaccine procurement is not a sustainable long-term solution.
He told the Board that Ghana must build the capacity to manufacture vaccines to reduce dependence on unreliable sources, as was witnessed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He urged the Board to collaborate with other vaccine-producing institutions to ensure the delivery of vaccines with impeccable quality and efficacy.
“Develop a roadmap for vaccine development and manufacturing in Ghana. Support the upgrade of laboratory facility for the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to achieve World Health Organisation (WHO) maturity level. Collaborate with international institutions in Senegal, Rwanda,” he noted.
