The Ministry of Health has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) for Ghana to participate in the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM).
The agreement, aimed at supporting pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers in the country, was signed on August 21, 2026, in Accra, between the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh (MP), and the Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya.
Commitment
Mr Akandoh said the agreement gave practical meaning to the commitment of President John Dramani Mahama at the Ghana Vaccines Manufacturing Investment Forum in Accra last year, where he directed that reforms be implemented to ensure locally produced vaccines and pharmaceuticals are prioritised in public procurement.
The President also pledged to support Ghanaian producers to access regional markets and participate in the APPM.
The minister added that the country joining the APPM would be complemented by ongoing efforts to set up a system for Advance Purchase Commitment to de-risk investments in local manufacturing in the country.
The APPM is a continental market-shaping and pooled procurement mechanism established under an African Union Assembly Decision which urges all member states to join.
Significance
The agreement would further provide market access beyond Ghana, and offer both established manufacturers and upcoming ones in the planned Ghana Pharmaceutical Hub a structured pathway to supply quality-assured health products, vaccines and medical equipment to all 55 AU member states through Africa CDC’s demand aggregation.
It would also create sustainable, predictable and expanded demand for African-made products, solving the critical challenge of a small domestic market of 33 million and ensuring the viability of local manufacturing investments.
Furthermore, the mechanism would improve access to affordable, quality-assured products while strengthening supply security, collective purchasing power and intra-African trade, in line with Africa CDC’s Strategic Plan (2023-2027) and the African Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) Framework.
The agreement also reaffirms that all procurement under APPM remains subject to the exclusive regulatory authority of Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for marketing authorisation, import control, batch release and post-market surveillance.
The FDA is recognised as a WHO Maturity Level Three Regulator for Medicines.
And in line with the agreement, the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) and Africa CDC would jointly operationalise Ghana’s participation during the upcoming Regional Meeting on APPM to be hosted in Accra in November 2026.
The meeting would bring together political leadership, policymakers, regulators, manufacturers and procurement agencies to agree on an APPM Supply Catalogue, technical specifications and implementation arrangements.
Appreciation
The Chief Executive Officer of the NVI, Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, said that for years, local manufacturers had been constrained by a market of 33 million, but with APPM, they now had access to a market of 1.4 billion Africans.
He expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Health, the government and Africa CDC for their commitment.
