Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana advocates for establishment of Pharma Bank

The Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana is calling for the establishment of a Pharmaceutical bank to aid the operations of its members.

According to the chamber, the introduction of such an intervention would help address the specific financial needs of businesses in the pharmaceutical industry.

Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a pharma park in Tema, Chairman of the Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana, Harrison Abutiate, said some countries in Asia had set examples in this field and Ghana must follow suit to give a boost to the sector.

He indicated that, “Government of Ghana must use export credit guarantees to underwrite and guarantee credit access to export activities. The government should direct capital provision through sector-specific support funds. The sector must be identified and supported out of the normal provisions that government makes to support other companies because the pharmaceutical industry is capital intensive.”

He added that, “What actually I want to press here is that, I’m thinking of a Pharma Bank that will have special interest rates to support the pharmaceutical industry. If this is one of the flagship areas that government wants to go into, this is done in India, China etc where the government supports them to stand up.  In Ghana we are still sitting down so help us stand up.”

The Chamber of Pharmacy, Ghana (CoPG), complying with the provision of sections 27 and 28 of the Companies Act 1963, registered with the Registrar-General’s Department and then commenced business effectively in 2013.

Until recently, the pharmaceutical industry in the country has been saddled with many splinter groupings, each pursuing its own narrow agenda without the requisite harmonization of ideas to serve the good of the industry as a whole. Learning from international best practices led to the establishment of the Chamber.

The Chamber is noted for its collaboration with all industry stakeholders and its ability to protect and pursue the collective needs and interests of members in order to create a pharmaceutical industry that supports members and national development.

The Chamber has positioned itself to serve its members from all segments of the pharmaceutical industry, namely local manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, practitioners/consultants, other stakeholders from the academia and other training institutions.

The Chamber aspires to be a research hub that seeks to collect, analyse and interpret practical industry data to inform, impact and influence policy, law and regulation.

The Chamber is also an advocacy voice that seeks to speak authoritatively and act proactively on all national issues that are likely to affect the pharmaceutical industry.