action medeor – das Medikamentenhilfswerk

You are here:

• Pharmaceutical expertise /
• Strengthening local structures

Supporting the establishment of a regional analytical control and development laboratory in Ghana

The Ghanaian health sector recognized that there is a lack of quality and proof of bioavailability of pharmaceutical products. A laboratory should on the one hand test the physical and chemical properties of medicines, this can detect falsified medicines or substandard medicines. Banning these from the market is an important step toward a safe medicines supply.

On the other hand a better equipped laboratory could serve as a clinical research centrefor performing comparative clinical studies. These comparative studies, called bio-equivalence studies, could show that medicines produced in the region are as efficacious as imported products.
In January 2014 pharmacists of action medeor together with local experts and stakeholders assessed the need for such a laboratory in Ghana. As part of this evaluation, a workshop with all stakeholders was carried out and possible locations for a laboratory were identified and visited. In a second step, the team of technical experts from action medeor and India then developed a potential concept for such a laboratory, detailing for example, which equipment and facilities would be required. At the same time an elaborate financial assessment was carried out to analyse whether and under what conditions such a laboratory concept would be economically viable.The results of the studies are now under evaluation at the Ministry of Health, Ghana.