The Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has assured Parliament that government is stepping up efforts to curb the illegal sale and misuse of dangerous opioids across the country, reaffirming government’s commitment to protecting public health through sustained regulatory enforcement and coordinated action against unregistered pharmaceutical products.
Appearing before the House to answer questions relating to his Ministry, the Minister said the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) continues to implement regulatory, operational and public health measures to tackle the illicit trade in substances such as tapentadol and the street drug popularly known as “Red.”
“The FDA has not registered any pharmaceutical products containing tapentadol for medical use in Ghana. As a result, the sale, distribution and possession of such products remain illegal.”
Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
The Minister’s remarks underscore government’s determination to strengthen oversight of the pharmaceutical sector while intensifying measures to prevent dangerous opioid products from entering the country’s supply chain. His assurance comes as authorities continue to treat opioid abuse as a significant public health concern requiring sustained monitoring, enforcement and public education.
A Crisis That Has Simmered Since Last Year
The Minister’s update builds on a fight the Ministry has been waging since the opioid crisis first drew national attention. A BBC Africa Eye investigation had exposed how an Indian pharmaceutical firm was manufacturing and exporting unapproved drugs containing tapentadol and carisoprodol to Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, drugs that flooded local markets under street names including “Red” and were linked to a wave of addiction, particularly among young people.
The findings heightened public concern over the growing availability of illicit opioids in West Africa and reinforced calls for stronger regulatory interventions. They also prompted renewed focus on strengthening Ghana’s pharmaceutical regulatory framework and tightening surveillance at the country’s entry points to prevent the circulation of unregistered medicines.
Inspections, Education and Enforcement
Updating the House on the current state of that response, the Minister explained that the FDA, working with the Pharmacy Council, conducts regular inspections of retail and wholesale pharmacies nationwide to detect unregistered medicines, educate retailers on the dangers of opioid misuse, and seize illegal products where found. He added that offenders identified through these inspections are sanctioned in accordance with the law.
The measures echo a joint enforcement approach the Ministry has leaned on since the crisis broke, drawing in the FDA, the Narcotics Control Commission, Customs and the Ghana Revenue Authority to tighten surveillance at the country’s ports and other entry points against smuggled opioid shipments.
The collaborative approach reflects government’s strategy of combining regulation, enforcement and education to disrupt the illegal opioid trade while ensuring compliance with Ghana’s pharmaceutical laws. Through continuous inspections and coordinated operations, authorities aim to prevent prohibited medicines from reaching consumers and protect the integrity of the country’s healthcare system.
Protecting Public Health
The Minister said the combined measures are aimed at protecting public health, preventing the misuse of controlled substances and ensuring that medicines in circulation are supplied strictly in accordance with approved regulations.
The opioid crisis has previously drawn sharp reaction from the public and from Parliament itself, with civil society groups rallying behind campaigns such as #StopRed to protest the drug’s spread, and health officials warning that addiction was already straining hospitals and eroding productivity among the youth.
The Ministry’s ongoing interventions are intended to reduce those risks by strengthening regulatory compliance and reinforcing public confidence in the safety of medicines available on the Ghanaian market.
By reaffirming the FDA’s inspection and enforcement regime before Parliament, the Minister signalled that the government regards the opioid problem as an ongoing rather than a resolved threat, one requiring sustained monitoring of the pharmaceutical supply chain rather than a one-off crackdown.
Whether the current pace of inspections and seizures is enough to stem the flow of unregistered opioids will likely remain a recurring question for lawmakers, particularly given how quickly new brands and formulations of the drugs have previously resurfaced on the black market after enforcement actions.
For now, the Ministry’s position is that vigilance at both the retail and border levels remains the primary line of defence against a trade it has described as a matter of national public health concern.
The Minister’s assurance to Parliament reinforces government’s commitment to maintaining pressure on illegal opioid traders while strengthening the institutions responsible for regulating medicines in Ghana.
As the Ministry continues to implement its regulatory and enforcement agenda, the focus remains on safeguarding public health, preventing opioid misuse and ensuring that only approved medicines are available for public use.
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