Accra, Ghana — The Pharmacy Council of Ghana has inaugurated a high-level committee to draft Regulations under the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857), marking a significant step towards strengthening the legal and regulatory framework governing pharmacy practice in Ghana.
The committee has been mandated to develop a draft Legislative Instrument (LI) to operationalise Part IV of Act 857. The draft Regulations, once completed, will be submitted to the Governing Board of the Council and subsequently to the Minister for Health for consideration and onward transmission for enactment.
In addition to drafting the Legislative Instrument, the committee has been tasked with identifying gaps in the existing law and proposing recommendations for possible amendments to ensure the legal framework remains responsive to current and emerging developments in pharmacy practice.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Registrar of the Council, Pharm. Michael Kudebong, Esq, emphasised that while Act 857 provides the statutory basis for regulating pharmacy practice, its effective implementation depends on the development of detailed regulations to guide practice and enforcement. He noted that the proposed LI is expected to provide clarity and structure in key areas, including the registration and licensing of pharmacists and pharmaceutical support staff, licensing of premises, standards of practice, scope of professional services, medicines supply, and disciplinary and enforcement mechanisms.
The committee was formally inaugurated by Pharm. Joseph Kofi Nsiah Nyoagbe, a member of the Governing Board and former Registrar of the Council. In his remarks, he accentuated that the role of the committee is to operationalise the provisions of Act 857 through subsidiary legislation, rather than to alter the substance of the law, while also encouraging members to identify areas that may require amendment.
Chaired by Yussif Inua, the committee brings together a multidisciplinary group of professionals drawn from regulatory practice, law, academia, and the wider pharmacy sector. Its membership comprises:
- Pharm. Yussif Inua (Esq) — Chairperson
- Joseph Kofi Nsiah Nyoagbe — Member
- Pharm. Kwabena Offei (Esq) — Member
- Hon. Mohammed Bawah Braimah — Member
- Dr (Pharm) Kenneth Eugene Kweku Simmons — Member
- Pharm. Ernest Aboagye (Esq) — Member
- Pharm. Ama Nkansah — Member
- Prof. Victor Wutor — Member
- Dr (Pharm) Richard Odor — Member
- Pharm. Samuel Antwi-Kwakwa — Member
- Pharm. Justice Kwanning — Member
- Pharm. Reginald Sekyi-Brown — Member
- Representative of the Pharmacy Technology Association of Ghana — Member
- The Registrar, Pharmacy Council
The committee will be supported administratively by Mrs. Emily Ampomia, Head of Administration, and Mr. Ishmael Damoah of the Registration and Licensing Department, with additional technical and logistical support from the Council’s Secretariat.
Also present to grace the occassion was the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Pharm. Dr. Paul Owusu Donkor, who expressed the Society’s unflinching support for the initiative and indicated the PSGH’s readiness to contribute to stakeholder engagement processes to facilitate the development and eventual passage of the regulations.
More soon…
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