FDA records GH¢70m surplus in 2025 despite laboratory equipment, illicit product concerns

In 2025, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) managed a GH¢70 million surplus, despite concerns about aged laboratory equipment and illicit products. Deputy Director of Finance Samuel Adom-Siaw reported the Authority’s financial progress at the 2025 FDA Annual Stakeholders’ Meeting in Accra. The surplus represented a 51 per cent increase from 2024, when it was GH¢46 million.

Total assets rose from GH¢296 million to GH¢358 million, while liabilities fell from GH¢12 million to GH¢3.4 million, according to Adom-Siaw. Total revenue amounted to GH¢420 million, with 66 per cent coming from internally generated funds (IGF), 19 per cent from donor inflows, and 15 per cent from government subsidies. Expenditure remained steady at GH¢267 million in 2025, despite higher staff compensation and operational demands.

The Authority projected IGF at GH¢374 million but realized only GH¢278 million, resulting in a GH¢95 million shortfall due to exchange-rate fluctuations. Adom-Siaw pledged to continue prudent expenditure management, improve revenue mobilization, and review fee structures in consultation with stakeholders.

Quality Assurance Manager Joseph Ofosu-Siaw presented the operational report, revealing that the FDA processed 24,225 product applications, approving 20,205. Facility inspections totaled 15,457, and 47,189 consignments were inspected at ports, a 21.7 per cent increase from 2024. The FDA operated in 11 of Ghana’s 16 regions and 11 of 32 border posts, with plans to expand nationwide.

62 per cent of registered products in 2025 were locally produced, up from 33 per cent in 2024. The Authority conducted 2,250 market surveillance exercises, inspecting 24,755 retail outlets and retrieving 215,876 non-compliant products. They trained 8,693 street food vendors and issued 1,369 permits under the street food safety program.

The FDA also collected 2,520 unwanted medicines and submitted validated information to the World Health Organisation’s global database. Laboratory testing samples received were 7,551, a 76 per cent increase from 2024, but testing coverage reached only 77 per cent of the 85 per cent target. The FDA’s laboratory equipment was between eight and 20 years old, causing maintenance challenges.

Adom-Siaw called on stakeholders for support in acquiring modern laboratory equipment. Director of Legal Services Perpetual Vicentia Yankson reported 80 warnings and 233 administrative fines issued in 2025 for regulatory breaches, including unapproved advertisements, unregistered products, pharmaceutical recalls, and illicit tobacco activities.

Businesses were reminded that advertisements for regulated products require FDA approval. Yankson cautioned against manufacturing, importing, distributing, or selling regulated products without registration, emphasizing the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), which outlines registration, advertising, inspection, and safe disposal requirements.

The FDA educated more than 12 million people in 2025 on tobacco use, drug safety, and food safety. Management pledged to intensify intelligence-led enforcement, risk-based surveillance, and collaborate with the Customs Division and other institutions to address illicit imports and unregistered products.