The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has appealed to its members to reduce the prices of medicines after a gradual appreciation of the Ghana cedi against the major trading currencies.

“The PSGH has also taken note of high prices of medicines, despite the appreciation of the Cedi, although the original reason for the high prices was mainly due to the recent depreciation of the Cedi,” it said in a statement.

The PSGH wishes to highlight that the pharmaceutical business also provides an important social life-saving benefit.

Access to medicines and other medical products must therefore be of utmost priority at every point in time for all relevant stakeholders, it said.

The statement called on PSGH actors of the pharmaceutical supply chain, including manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, suppliers, and retailers to take urgent steps to reduce the prices of medicines to reflect Cedi’s improved performance against the major trading currencies.

The PSGH also urged the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to urgently work together to ensure payment of arrears owed to providers under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

This it said would allow providers to pay their suppliers of pharmaceutical products.

“We believe this will also contribute further to the reduction in prices of medicines,” it said.