"Africa imports not less than 14 billion dollars' worth of pharmaceutical products every year. It is long overdue for us to shift from this dependency paradigm and invest in strengthening local pharmaceutical manufacturing," he said. According to the Minister, expanding domestic pharmaceutical production will strengthen Ghana's health security, reduce dependence on imports, create jobs and contribute significantly to economic growth. His comments come as Ghana continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on imported pharmaceutical products. The President of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana (PMAG), Dr Samuel Amo Tobbin, said local manufacturers currently supply only about 30 per cent of Ghana's pharmaceutical needs.