Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Minister of Health, has emphasised the need for a reliable supply chain for medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to ensure effective healthcare delivery and improve patient outcomes in Ghana.
He said the availability of essential health commodities was fundamental to the delivery of quality healthcare, adding that shortages and delays in the supply of medicines and medical equipment could undermine efforts to improve access to healthcare.
Mr Akandoh said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Desmond Boateng, Chief Director of the Ministry of Health at a dissemination workshop on the Ghana Health Supply Chain Master Plan (2025–2029) in Kumasi.
He said the plan provided a strategic framework for strengthening the availability, accessibility, affordability, quality and efficient management of essential health commodities across the country’s health system.
The Minister said effective healthcare delivery depended not only on adequate infrastructure and qualified personnel but also on the reliable supply of medicines, vaccines, diagnostic materials, medical equipment and other essential supplies.
He identified challenges, including stock-outs, inadequate storage facilities, inefficient inventory management, and delays in resupply, as factors that could disrupt healthcare delivery and increase operational costs.
Mr. Akandoh said strengthening the supply chain was particularly important as the government pursued initiatives to expand access to healthcare and advance the country’s universal health coverage objectives.
He explained that reliable access to essential medicines and other medical supplies would support primary healthcare delivery, promote early diagnosis, reduce preventable complications, and improve access to treatment.
The Minister said the implementation of the plan would require stronger supply chain governance, sustainable financing, institutional coordination, and greater country ownership to ensure the consistent availability of essential health commodities.
Madam Honorine Niyomana, Supply and Procurement Manager at UNICEF Ghana, said the effectiveness of healthcare services depended significantly on whether the right medical products were available in the right quantities, at the right time and in good condition.
She said even well-trained health professionals and adequately equipped facilities could struggle to provide appropriate care when essential medicines and medical supplies were unavailable.
Madam Niyomana said the availability of essential commodities was particularly critical to maternal, newborn and child healthcare.
She explained that pregnant women required essential medicines and supplies to support safe pregnancies and childbirth, while newborns needed oxygen, essential care supplies and timely vaccination.
Madam Niyomana stressed the need for effective forecasting, procurement, warehousing, distribution and information management to ensure that essential commodities reached health facilities when needed.
The workshop brought together stakeholders in the health sector to disseminate the Ghana Health Supply Chain Master Plan (2025–2029), which seeks to strengthen the country’s health supply chain and support the sustainable delivery of healthcare services.