The IRIMS system servers are expected to digitalise FDA’s regulatory operations and lot release for vaccine manufacturing.

Mr. Wilhelm Hugo, Cluster Coordinator of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), who presented the severs, said it would also allow clients to submit and track applications online.
He said the donation was to support the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) to create an enabling environment for vaccine production in Ghana.

“With this new management system and additional technical equipment, our Ghanaian partners can continue working towards their objective of turning Ghana into a pharmaceutical producer,” he said.

Mr. Hugo said Ghana’s ambition to become one of Africa’s leading vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturers would enhance both the health security of the Ghanaian population and the economy.

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He said the European Union (EU) and German Development Cooperation would continue to support and strengthen the institutional and technical capacities of the FDA.

“This will help the FDA to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) standards which includes a pharmaceutical-microbiological laboratory and a Clean Room, where contamination from dust, airborne germs, aerosol particles and chemical vapours is prevented,” he said.

Dr Delese Mimi Darko, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FDA, said by November 2024, the FDA would have a Clean Room that met specified biosafety standards.

“This effort underscores our commitment to building the critical infrastructure to regulate locally produced vaccines for the ECOWAS region,” she said.

Dr Darko thanked GIZ for the support stating that Ghana would succeed in local vaccine manufacturing to improve the health status of the people of West Africa.
She said the vaccine manufacturing initiative would create jobs, generate taxes and dividends and promote sustainable and balanced economic growth.