GEPA calls for viable pharmaceutical industry

By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Aug 22, GNA - The former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Dr Gideon Quarcoo, has called for a viable pharmaceutical industry to impact positively on the health of the people and contribute to socio-economic development.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Dr Quarcoo said industrial development of the pharmaceutical sector in the sub-region would contribute to improved public health outcomes.

He said the development of the industry was based on the principle that all manufacturers supplying pharmaceutical products to the people should ultimately meet international standards of production.

Dr Quarcoo said it was important that ECOWAS came out with a harmonised economic policy to pull all the various countries together to catalyse their industrial development.

On agro-products, he said value addition was essential to stabilise products against any price volatility on the global market.

He noted that it would be prudent for the various countries within the West African sub-region to pool their resources together to meet the huge global market demands.

Dr Quarcoo, who chaired the national planning committee of the maiden ECOWAS Industrial Summit in Accra, said the summit was historic and that its objective was to help accelerate the industrialisation and private sector development of West Africa.

GNA