The Pharmaceutical Sector in Ghana
Main pharmaceutical policy goals in Ghana are access to essential medicines for everybody, quality assurance for all drugs on the market, a functioning and efficient supply chain as well as rational use of medicines by professionals and patients. T...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Policy Note |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/734211468030342727/The-pharmaceutical-sector-in-Ghana-policy-note http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28117 |
| Summary: | Main pharmaceutical policy goals in
Ghana are access to essential medicines for everybody,
quality assurance for all drugs on the market, a functioning
and efficient supply chain as well as rational use of
medicines by professionals and patients. There is also a
commitment to strengthen the domestic pharmaceutical
industry, outlined under health industry in the national
health policy. The National Health Insurance System (NHIS)
has significantly improved access to medicines for insured
patients, measured in increased utilization of facilities
and rapidly growing turnover of revolving drug funds. The
risk is now that non-rational prescribing and fraud lead to
a growing medicine bill that threatens financial
sustainability of NHIS. On the other hand, National Health
Insurance Authority (NHIA) has the resources and purchasing
power to influence provider behavior as well as the market
in terms of quality and price. The purpose of this policy
note is to provide a compact overview of the situation,
trends and opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector in
Ghana as relevant to the strategic objectives in the five
year program of work. It summarizes data from a number of
recent studies and reports that were done by a range of
partners inside and outside the country as well as
discussions with key stakeholders in the sector. The intent
is to give decision makers up-to-date background information
and provide some suggestions for specific policy initiatives
designed to achieve the work program objectives, with a
particular focus on the role health insurance can play to
stabilize and improve service delivery, increase access to
quality medicines and promote rational use. The overall
legal framework for the pharmaceutical sector is set by the
Food and Drugs Law from 1992, amended by Act 523 in 1996. It
defines the role of the food and drugs board as separate
entity under control of the Ministry of Health (MOH),
responsible for regulating the sector. The Food and Drugs
Board (FDB) also runs the official drug quality control
laboratory that is in charge of testing quality samples
obtained from manufacturers, importers, distributors or
other sources. The FDB is also working on an improvement of
its public website in an effort to strengthen communication
with the general public to increase transparency and improve governance. |
|---|