Author: Gloria Addo

The 4th edition of the West Africa Pharma and Healthcare Exhibition, held at the Accra International Conference Centre, featured a dynamic panel discussion exploring how artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and telemedicine are shaping the future of medicine in Ghana and across the West African sub-region. Themed “AI, Big Data and Telemedicine Diffusion in Ghana—Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward,” the panel of profound healthcare professionals, regulators, and stakeholders tackled pressing issues including telemedicine regulation, pharmaceutical innovation, medicine accessibility, and emerging trends in pharmacy. The event opened up with a welcome address from Mr. Praveen Kumar Singh, Project Director of…

The 4th edition of the West Africa Pharma and Healthcare Exhibition officially opened today, May 6, 2025, at the Accra International Conference Centre, drawing together over 120 exhibitors and more than hundreds of professionals from across the pharmaceutical, medical, and healthcare sectors across the globe. Themed “E-Pharmacy & Digital Health,” the three-day event, running from May 6 to 8, aims to strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical industry by bringing together manufacturers, exporters, wholesalers, retailers, and other key stakeholders from across West Africa. In his welcome address, Mr. Praveen Kumar Singh, Project Director of West Africa Pharma and Healthcare (WAPHC) and Director…

Dr. Emmanuel Kwaku Ireland, Chairman of the Community Practice Pharmacists Association (CPPA), has called for a strategic and inclusive deployment of artificial intelligence in Ghana’s community health system. Delivering a keynote address on “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Revolutionize Community Health and Pharmacy Practice in Disease Surveillance and Control,” at a seminar held by the Health Community of West Africa Association on AI-CDC, Dr. Ireland described AI as a transformative tool that holds “immense promise” in changing how communities experience and access healthcare. “We are standing at the intersection of innovation and urgency. Artificial intelligence is not just a buzzword —…

Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Dr. Delese Mimi Darko, has pledged the Authority’s full commitment to collaborating with the Health Community of West Africa (HCOWA) Association in its agenda to register and regulate advanced medical equipment and products. The assurance was given during a strategic high-level dialogue held on Thursday, April 10, 2025, following HCOWA’s formal invitation to partner with the Authority as part of its broader push to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and modern medical technologies into Ghana’s healthcare landscape. Dr. Darko welcomed the HCOWA delegation warmly and expressed her utmost appreciation for the…

In a strategic move aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery in Ghana, the Health Community of West Africa Association (HCOWAA) and the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into the country’s healthcare framework. The MoU, signed on Friday, April 11, 2025, at TMPC’s Head Office in Accra, marks a monumental step toward the unification of Chinese and African traditional healing practices. The agreement was signed by Dr. (MH) Yakubu Tobor Yusuf, the head of TMPC, and Madam Sihong Jiang, President of HCOWA, alongside a high-level HCOWA delegation that included…

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has thrown its full weight behind the Health Community of West Africa (HCOWA) Association as the association rolls out a bold Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative to revolutionize Ghana’s healthcare system. During a courtesy call on Friday, March 28, 2025, on the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, at the GHS Headquarters in Accra, the HCOWA delegation introduced its five-point AI-powered transformation plan, aimed at enhancing diagnosis, disease surveillance, traditional medicine, and the medical supply chain across the country. Professor Kaba described HCOWA’s initiative as “a transformational tool and a game-changing intervention…

World Health Day 2025 marks the launch of a global campaign aimed at improving maternal and newborn health. Under the theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures,” the year-long initiative will call on governments, health systems, and communities to intensify efforts to end preventable deaths and enhance care for women and babies. The campaign, led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners, emphasizes the urgent need for action. Currently, nearly 300,000 women die annually due to pregnancy or childbirth complications. Meanwhile, over 2 million newborns die within their first month of life, and another 2 million are stillborn — a…

The Central Africa Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Network (RISLNET) has ushered in a new era of health security with the appointment of new board members and the adoption of a strategic operating framework at a workshop held in Libreville, Gabon, from March 28–29. For the next two years, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Equatorial Guinea will serve as chair and vice-chair, respectively. The reforms are part of a broader effort to align the network’s operations with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s (Africa CDC) new strategic priorities. “A high-quality laboratory and surveillance system is…

The President of the Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists (GAMH), Dr. MH Sandra Ashong, has called for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in traditional medicine to revolutionize the field and improve healthcare delivery. Speaking at a seminar organized by the Health Community of West Africa Association (HCOWA), on the Development and Application of Smart Chinese Medicine in Healthcare, Dr. Ashong emphasized the need to bridge traditional medicine with modern technology. The seminar, themed “Bridging Traditional and Technology: AI-Driven Innovations in African and Chinese Medicine,” brought together key stakeholders in the persons of Dr. Yakubu Tubor Yusuf, Registrar of the…

HOCWA Association has entered partnerships through the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists and Kantanka Herbal Pharmaceuticals & Research Centre as part of a seminar on the Development and Application of Smart Chinese Medicine in Healthcare. The initiative is aimed at exploring the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the Ghanaian herbal medicine. The purpose of this MoU is also to formalize the partnership between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ghanaian herbal medicine and to strengthen research collaborations, enhance healthcare delivery, and facilitate knowledge exchange programs to the benefit…