IMANI’s Executive Director, Franklin Cudjoe and Former Deputy Director of Food and Drugs Board, Mr Kwamina Van Ess, met with Ghana’s Health Minister to discuss health issues.

The discussion focused on Ghana’s position on the WHO’s Inter Governmental Working Group on Intellectual Property as it relates to development of medicines and progression of the National Alcohol Policy work IMANI initiated.

The discussions with the Ghanaian Minister of Health on Ghana’s position, revealed a rare sensible position – that breaking patents have the effect of weakening Africa’s ability to protect its medical breakthroughs in the future.

The Ghanaian Health Minister understands that while differential pricing of medicines will be a good way out for Africa, he knows patents are just a part of the solution- weak healthcare infrastructure, inadequate health insurance schemes, inadequate health professionals, price controls, taxes and tariffs on medicines (almost 30% in the case of Ghana) and corruption are the real barriers to health care in Africa.

Refreshingly, his position was at variance with the African Group position in the IGWG, which is blindly being led by Kenya championing the overly rehearsed chorus that patents put profits before people.

But his is a lone voice.