A situation analysis of the domestic production of essential medicines in paediatric dosage forms was carried out as the Local Manufacturing Component of the Better Medicines for Children (BMC) project. The BMC project was initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the aim of improving access to essential child‐specific medicines in countries. This project forms part of the framework and mechanism set in place to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, and 6, which set global priorities for reducing child mortality.

Ghana embraced the BMC project because of its relevance to the national context with regard to access to medicines. The project seeks to address issues congruent with the existing child health policy of Ghana. This study assessed the technical capacity of pharmaceutical manufacturers in Ghana to produce generic medicines in paediatric formulations for 26 target paediatric medicines for national use.

It was noted that local manufacturers either produce or have the capacity to produce medicines in most of the therapeutic categories for these child‐specific medicines. They also produce or have the capacity to produce medicines containing 20 out of the 26 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with regard to these child‐specific medicines. However, only 27% of these medicines are produced locally in the required dosage form and strength, while there is local capacity to produce a further 38%. Overall, local manufacturers have the potential to produce 65% of the targeted child‐specific medicines.

If the potential to produce a majority of these medicines locally is to be realized, then constraints with regard to some facility and equipment inadequacies, regulatory and international current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) compliance, low investment in research and development, limited capacity to produce some child‐friendly dosage forms, and procurement of raw materials from reliable sources need to be addressed...