President Gnassingbe advocates elimination of fake drugs

President Faure Gnassingbe, Togolese President, on Wednesday called for collaboration among West African countries, to eliminate the proliferation of fake drugs across the sub-region.

This, he said, could be positively done through providing adequate support to the local Pharmaceutical Companies, to produce quality drugs to avoid the perennial importation of drugs.

President Gnassingbe made the call when he visited the Danadams Pharmaceutical Company, as part of his three-day state visit to Ghana.

Prior to that, President Gnassingbe and host, President John Dramani Mahama, had held a joint press conference jointly inaugurated the West Hills Mall and held closed-door meetings.

He would be attending the second annual Professor John Evans Atta Mills Lectures at GIMPA, and also jointly inaugurate a railway project at Aflao in the Volta Region.

President Gnassingbe commended Danadams Pharmaceutical Company for taking up the task of producing malaria and HIV/AIDs anti-Retroviral drugs that were exported to neighbouring countries.

He appealed to Management of the company to consider establishing a subsidiary company in Lome, Togo to make their drugs accessible to the people there and beyond.

President Gnassingbe said there was the need for both Ghana and Togo to fight against the sale of drugs in open market as the practice was inimical to the health of the people.

The Togolese President said his country would collaborate with Ghana to fight against maritime crime and piracy along their territorial waters in the coming years.

Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, Chief Executive Officer of Danadams, called on governments in the West African sub-region, to support pharmaceutical companies to reduce the importation of such drugs.

He appealed to government to support them to also acquire World Health Organization licenses to be able to produce and export to other continents to boost their expertise.