Lucia Addae Nti, Executive Secretary for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana
• PMAG has contradicted the 30 percent fake drug statement by PharmAccess Ghana
• Executive Secretary of PMAG wants PharmAccess Ghana to back its claims with data
• PMAG believes the unfortunate statement can cause fear and panic among Ghanaians
The Executive Secretary for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana (PMAG) Lucia Addae Nti has dismissed claims that medicines are substandard.
Her reaction follows PharmaAccess Ghana’s Dr Maxwell Antwi assertion that 30% of medicines in Ghana are fake.
Speaking to GhanaWeb, Lucia Addae described that statement as untrue and called for PharmaAccess to publicize its research that made them conclude on the percentage of fake drugs in the country.
“Dr Maxwell Antwi has put out a story that should be retracted and apologise for. He is stating that 30 per cent of medicines in the country of Ghana are fake. We believe that this is not true and if he still stands by his words then we are giving him a week to actually come up with a scientific report with the methodology, analysis of how it concluded that 30 per cent of drugs in the country are fake,” she said.
She believes the diligence carried out by various regulatory bodies in the country will not allow fake medicine to flood the Ghanaian market.
“We have state agencies that are doing their work very well. We have the Ghana Food & Drug Authority which has WHO maturity level 3 and others which means that they are one of the best to analyse and ascertain and also ensure we have the right medicines available for the market.
“We have the Pharmaceutical Council, we have the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana which has professionals to ensure quality on the market,” she stated.
The executive secretary indicated that the phenomenon of substandard drugs is not exclusive to Ghana, however, it does not exceed 1 percent.
“It is agreed globally that you could have a small percentage which is less than one percent possibly. It is the same as you can have in Europe and America. People travel with substandard drugs possibly in their suitcases,” she added.
She further stated that the fake drug statement could cause fear and panic amongst the Ghanaians public.
“You cannot purport publicly that 30 percent of medicines available on the open market are fake. Such false claims should not be encouraged because it can cause fear and panic in the Ghanaian market,” she expressed.