The Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana has promised to assist government confront the challenges that may arise from the recent fire outbreak that destroyed the Central Medical Stores (CMS) in Tema.

The Chamber has also pledged to put at government’s disposal its technical expertise and other material resources to enable the country to meet shortfalls in medical supplies should an emergency situation arise.

It urged the regulatory authorities to take stringent measures in ensuring that unscrupulous people do not take advantage of the situation to import fake and unwholesome drugs into the country.

Mr Anthony Ameka, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, who disclosed this in an interaction with journalists in Accra, Monday, said the Chamber deemed the CMS fire unfortunate, especially at the material moment when Ghana needed more resources to address current healthcare challenges.

He said the Chamber, as a major stakeholder in the pharmaceutical industry in Ghana, could not look on unconcerned at “this devastating and destabilising” incident that had consumed medical resources worth some 237 million dollars.

Mr Ameka, speaking on behalf of the National Executive Council of the Chamber, said the organisation would help the Ministry of Health (MOH) to review the list of pharmaceutical products burnt and donate products that they were able to import and manufacture locally.

He said the Chamber was ready to assist the MOH with temporary warehousing space as it sought a permanent solution to the issue, stating that members of the Chamber had acquired considerable technical knowledge in manufacturing practices, proper warehousing and supply chain management and would put this at the disposal of the country.

Mr Ameka said the Chamber will collaborate effectively with state institutions to forestall any future occurrence of the unfortunate incident and would engage the Government and all other stakeholders to find short and long term solutions to mitigate the situation.

“For us, good pharmaceutical practice is a must to improve healthcare and create job opportunities for our people,” he said, adding that it was time to support the local manufacturers of medicines and not depend solely on imported drugs.

Mr Ameka said it was the expectation of the Chamber that at the end of the investigations, recommendations would be fully implemented, irrespective of the consequences.

The Central Medical Stores, Ghana’s biggest storage and distribution outlet for medicines and medical resources, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday, January 13, necessitating a full scale enquiry into the incident that has caused the country humongous losses.