From Left: Dr. Bawumia, PSGH President Paul, PSGH Executive Secretary and Vice President

Former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has paid a working visit to the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) as part of ongoing stakeholder consultations on national development and healthcare priorities.

The engagement, held on Thursday, 22 October 2026, at the PSGH Secretariat in Spintex, Accra, brought together the Society’s leadership and members of Dr. Bawumia’s policy team for discussions on issues affecting the pharmacy profession and Ghana’s healthcare system.The PSGH delegation was led by its President, Paul Owusu Donkor, PhD, and included Vice President Pharm. Peter Gyamfi; Executive Secretary, Rev. Dr. Dennis Sena Awitty; and Executive Member, Dr. (Pharm.) Lucia Addae.

Also present were two Past Presidents of the Society, Pharm. Benjamin K. Botwe and Pharm. Thomas B. Appiagyei; Dr. (Mrs.) Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt, a former Director of Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health; Chairperson of the Community Practice Pharmacists Association (CPPA), Dr. (Pharm.) Therestella Obosu Tei-Kwabla; Chairperson of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA), Dr. (Pharm) Emmanuel Owiafe Owusu, Chairperson of the Early Career Pharmaceutical Group (ECPG), Pharm. Reginald Sekyi-Brown; PSGH Strategic Plan Manager, Dr. (Pharm.) Harry Amoaning Okyere, and Pharm. Robert Nii Kpakpo of the Executive Coordination and Monitoring Committee.

Dr. Bawumia was accompanied by Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, former Majority Leader of Parliament and former Minister for Parliamentary Affairs; Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service and Co-Chair of the Health Subcommittee of his policy team; and Dr. Rauf Audu, former Registrar of the Pharmacy Council and Lead of the team’s Pharmaceutical Desk. Other members of the delegation included Hon. Frederick Opare-Ansah, former Member of Parliament for Suhum and Chairman of the party’s elections committee; Dr. Ekuah Amoakoh, spokesperson and aide to Dr. Bawumia; and a host of  other members of the flagbearer’s policy team.

The engagement provided an opportunity for PSGH to highlight critical challenges and opportunities within Ghana’s pharmaceutical sector and to share perspectives on policy interventions needed to strengthen healthcare delivery. Key issues discussed included the promotion of local pharmaceutical manufacturing, health workforce optimisation, recruitment and deployment of pharmacists into public health facilities, pharmaceutical regulation, and strengthening institutional support for the Ghana College of Pharmacists.

The PSGH leadership emphasised the strategic importance of pharmacy to national health security, improved patient outcomes and economic development, particularly through enhanced local medicine production and more effective utilisation of the country’s pharmaceutical workforce.

Bawumia acknowledges critical role of Pharmaceutical Sector

During the interaction, Dr. Bawumia acknowledged the significant contribution of pharmacists and the pharmaceutical industry to healthcare delivery and Ghana’s economy. He recognised the importance of addressing challenges confronting the sector and indicated that pharmaceutical sector priorities deserved serious consideration in national health policy discussions.

The engagement enabled his policy team to gain further insights into the profession’s concerns and perspectives on strengthening healthcare services.