NewzGhana has taken a major step towards becoming a regional hub for vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing after signing an agreement to participate in the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on August 21, 2026, in Accra by the government of Ghana, represented by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), represented by its Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya. The agreement is expected to give Ghanaian pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers access to a much larger continental market while creating more predictable demand for locally manufactured health products.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said the agreement gives practical effect to a commitment made by President John Mahama at the Ghana Vaccines Manufacturing Investment Forum in August 2025. “This MoU gives practical effect to the commitment of President John Mahama at the Ghana Vaccines Manufacturing Investment Forum held in Accra in August 2025,” he said. He said the President had directed reforms to ensure locally produced vaccines and pharmaceuticals are prioritised in public procurement in Ghana.
The President had also pledged to support Ghanaian producers in accessing regional markets and participating in the APPM. “Ghana’s joining the APPM will be strongly complemented by ongoing efforts to set up a system for Advance Purchase Commitment to de-risk investments in local manufacturing in Ghana,” Mr Akandoh added. The APPM is a continental pooled procurement and market-shaping mechanism established under decisions of the African Union.
Under the arrangement, Ghanaian pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers will have a structured pathway to supply quality-assured health products, vaccines and medical equipment to all 55 African Union member states through demand aggregation by Africa CDC. The mechanism is also expected to address one of the major challenges facing local pharmaceutical manufacturing: the limited size of Ghana’s domestic market. According to the National Vaccine Institute (NVI), the arrangement will create expanded and more predictable demand for African-made products.
It is also expected to strengthen supply security, collective purchasing power and intra-African trade while improving access to affordable, quality-assured health products. Ghanaian vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturers are set to gain access to a continental market of about 1.4 billion people following Ghana’s participation in the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM). The Government of Ghana and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on August 21, 2026, in Accra to formalise Ghana’s participation in the mechanism.
The agreement was signed by the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and the Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya. The APPM is a continental market-shaping and pooled procurement mechanism established under African Union decisions. It seeks to aggregate demand across African countries and create a structured market for quality-assured health products, vaccines and medical equipment produced on the continent.
Summary from source