Ghana is mounting a coordinated push toward vaccine self-sufficiency ahead of a 2030 deadline that will see the country lose access to heavily subsidised immunisation support, with the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) now simultaneously advancing local manufacturing capacity and undertaking the most comprehensive public trust mapping exercise in the country’s health history.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, currently covers approximately 80% of the costs and distribution of vaccines underpinning Ghana’s immunisation programmes. However, once Ghana reaches middle-income status, it will no longer qualify for this support, leaving a substantial financial and logistical gap that the NVI is tasked with closing within four years.
President John Mahama has committed an additional $50 million to the NVI’s seed fund, bringing the total to $75 million, as a direct investment toward building and equipping domestic vaccine manufacturing infrastructure. Speaking at a vaccine manufacturing investment forum in Accra, President Mahama drew a sharp lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that Africa received less than 1% of global vaccine production during the crisis and describing the disparity as a structural failure rather than an oversight.
Alongside the manufacturing push, the NVI launched a Vaccine Perception Survey on February 16, 2026, running through March 10, to generate the evidence base needed to build public confidence in domestically produced vaccines before they reach the market. The survey is being conducted across 55 districts in all 16 regions, involving structured interviews with 11,077 randomly selected respondents and seven focus group discussions to capture deeper qualitative insights. It will assess public attitudes toward vaccines, identify drivers of confidence, examine barriers to acceptance of locally manufactured products, and track misinformation trends that could undermine uptake.
Early evidence points to a split in the nature of hesitancy across the country. Some northern communities have expressed caution specifically about locally produced vaccines, while urban centres face a different challenge driven largely by social media misinformation and global anti-vaccine movements.
Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, Chief Executive Officer of the NVI, said the survey is intended as a genuine listening exercise, not a communications campaign. Participation is voluntary and all responses are confidential, with the findings set to directly inform public education strategies, identify trusted community messengers, and guide region-specific rollout plans for Made-in-Ghana vaccines.
On the production side, NVI has been engaging the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) as a key institutional partner, alongside international bodies including the German Development Corporation (GIZ), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the European Union, to build laboratory capacity, a simulation centre, and a dedicated vaccine research and development team.
The twin-track strategy reflects a recognition that manufacturing capability alone will not guarantee a successful transition. Health authorities have consistently stated that public confidence must be earned through transparency and community engagement before any locally manufactured vaccine can be reliably deployed at national scale.
