According to Simons, the government has to establish a Regulatory Harmonisation Scheme which will ensure the country is raking in the full benefits from the production of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
“The truth is that it has not led to vaccine trade or even to pharmaceutical trade beyond a certain level. It’s not just liberalising the tariffs that would make so much of a difference. You need regulatory harmonisation.”
“Because if it takes me one year to register my vaccine in Chad, it makes no point. So, unless we have a regulatory harmonisation scheme with Ghana at the heart of it, it will be a bit difficult. But I think it’s in Ghana’s interest to align its diplomacy to push regulatory harmonisation,” Simons said this at the third edition of the Ghana Pharma Summit in Accra.
President Akufo-Addo in his 26th COVID-19 update to the nation announced the government’s plans to develop its capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines locally in a bid to reduce the dependence on foreign supplies.
According to him, this is as a result of the global shortage of coronavirus vaccines that has stalled the country’s vaccination plans for some time.
President Akufo-Addo also revealed government will commit to a seed fund injection of US$25 million towards the establishment of the National Vaccine Production Institute. Read Full Story
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