The visit formed part of on­going efforts to deepen Ghana– Indonesia relations in the health sector, particularly in vaccine research, development, and local production.

During the meeting, delibera­tions centered on the establish­ment of a vaccine production hub in Ghana, leveraging Indonesia’s global track record in vaccine manufacturing.

Mr Rois underscored Indone­sia’s expertise through Bio Farma, the state-owned pharmaceutical giant, which produces more than 2.3 billion doses of vaccines annually and supplies to over 150 countries under World Health Or­ganisation (WHO) and UNICEF certifications.

He explained that such collabo­ration would not only help reduce Africa’s heavy reliance on im­ported vaccines but also position Ghana as a vaccine manufacturing leader in the sub-region.

Mr Rois further noted that In­donesia Aid was ready to support technical assistance programs while Indonesian government scholarships had already benefit­ted Ghanaian students, with seven selected this year for studies in various academic fields.

He also revealed that discus­sions were ongoing with Indo­nesia’s Ministry of Health to facilitate the supply of Monkey pox test kits to Ghana, reinforc­ing both nations’ commitment to health security.

Mr Rois proposed stronger institutional cooperation between Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authori­ty (FDA) and Indonesia’s National Agency of Drug and Food Con­trol to ensure regulatory harmoni­sation in vaccine development and clinical trials.

For his part, Dr Sodzi-Tettey welcomed the initiative and assured Mr Rois of the Institute’s readiness to collaborate.

He emphasised that govern­ment support and regulatory oversight by the FDA would be crucial to the success of such an ambitious project.

He further mentioned existing engagements between the Nation­al Vaccine Institute, Atlantic Life Sciences, and Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research as important building blocks for Ghana’s vaccine self-sufficiency agenda.

Touching on human resource development, Dr Sodzi-Tettey rec­ommended that Ghana’s Ministry of Health and Indonesia formalise training opportunities through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

This, he explained, would create a structured framework for Gha­naian health professionals to ac­cess specialised training programs in Indonesia with clear guidelines on participation and knowledge transfer.