SEND Ghana Country Director Harriet Nuamah Agyemang has urged government to prioritise local vaccine manufacturing to strengthen Ghana’s preparedness for future disease outbreaks.

She said the country’s reported scramble to procure additional vaccine doses during the current suspected yellow fever situation highlights the need to develop domestic capacity to produce vaccines when emergencies arise.

Ms Nuamah Agyemang said Ghana must assess the progress of the vaccine manufacturing initiative and determine what more can be done to build local production capacity.

“Vaccine manufacturing has been a topical issue in the past few years, with the previous government even setting up the vaccine institute,” she said on Joy FM’s Top Story.

She urged the media and relevant stakeholders to examine what the institute has achieved so far and the recommendations it has made to government.

“Maybe you need to find out what the institute has been doing, what recommendations they've given to government, whether we are manufacturing any vaccines soon,” she said.

Ms Nuamah Agyemang also called for stronger collaboration between government and private pharmaceutical manufacturers to ensure vaccines can be produced or secured quickly when the need arises.

She said government should explore partnerships with local manufacturers as part of efforts to improve the country’s emergency preparedness and reduce reliance on external sources during health crises.

Her comments come as health authorities respond to suspected yellow fever cases across the country, with Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh reporting about 450 suspected cases between June and September 2026.

The Upper West Region accounts for 74 suspected cases, with 3 so far confirmed as yellow fever.