A one-day meeting on Monday was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance with support from Gavi Alliance to discuss the successful transition to a vaccine manufacturer and “self-financing” of vaccines by 2030.
Ghana is due to transition out of GAVI support by 2030 in line with the Vaccine Alliance transition policy that aims to move countries from development assistance to domestic financing of immunization programmes.
As per the model, Ghana entered accelerated transition in January 2022 and was expected to transition out of GAVI’s support in 2027, during this phase, the government is expected to increase its share of vaccine costs to 100% and become fully self-financing.
However, Under the revised policies approved in December 2022, Ghana will now stay in accelerated transition until 2029 and definitely must transition in January, 2030.
The Minister responsible for health, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu in a speech read on his behalf, stated that as Ghana is positioning itself as a future local vaccine manufacturer, having a transition road map is particularly important to ensure the financial sustainability of this strategy that should provide a boost for vaccine equity and access.
“The objective is to start manufacturing vaccines from 2025, and to manufacture 600 million doses of various vaccines a year, including vaccines for malaria, HPV, pneumonia, rotavirus and cholera”, he said.
The Minister appreciated GAVI for supporting approximately 80% of the cost of vaccines and their delivery, including health system strengthening. “With their support, Ghana has been implementing commendable high-quality preventive and reactive vaccination campaigns in response to public health emergencies”, he said.
Dr. Kelechi Ohiri Chief, Strategy Policy and Innovation Officer at GAVI, in his remarks, commended Ghana for achieving a remarkable milestone in maintaining a solid programme for immunization. He underscored the need for Ghana to develop a clear transition plan that will ensure co-financing to avoid a shortage of vaccines.
The Chairman for the meeting, Dr. Anarfi Baah in his remarks also stressed the need for financial mechanisms that are sustainable, reliable and recurrent.
He also called for a transparent procurement system, motivated workforce and strategic communication that will tackle misinformation and disinformation to ensure a smooth transition.