The Pharmacy Council of Ghana closed some 100 pharmaceutical shops between September and November 2023 for operating illegally.
According to the Deputy Registrar of the council, Dr Daniel Danquah this is to enforce the regulations and crack down on noncompliant pharmacies.
He said in addition to strengthening the pharmacy regulatory framework, the Council has created a new training programme for pharmacists.
“About 10 companies have gone through the disciplinary procedure; others were closed. When they complied, it was opened at the regional level. So those reports don’t come to us directly.
“But if you are trying to put together facilities that have been closed down within the year, it is a lot. We can have 100 closed down in two or three months,” Dr Danquah said.
A statement by the council said, “The intervention was prompted by a tip-off from two vigilant police officers who witnessed the addict adding a substance, later identified as tramadol, to his drink”.
The owner of the facility and her staff were subsequently made to face the disciplinary committee of the Council.
In the same month, the Council shut down a pharmacy in the Ashanti Region, following the death of a 5-year-old child.
He was reportedly delivered the wrong treatment at the pharmacy in the Kwabre East Municipality.