FDA records GH¢70m surplus, flags ageing laboratory equipment
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) recorded a GH¢70 million surplus in 2025, representing a 51% increase from the GH¢46 million recorded in 2024. Despite the improved financial position, the Authority has identified ageing laboratory equipment and the circulation of illicit products as major challenges to its efforts to protect public health.
Deputy Director of Finance at the FDA, Samuel Adom-Siaw, disclosed the figures during the Authority’s 2025 Annual Stakeholders’ Meeting in Accra, where he presented the audited financial statements.
He said the FDA’s total assets rose from GH¢296 million in 2024 to GH¢358 million in 2025, while its liabilities fell significantly from GH¢12 million to GH¢3.4 million.
The Authority generated total revenue of GH¢420 million during the year. This included GH¢278 million from internally generated funds (IGF), GH¢78 million in donor support and GH¢63 million in government subsidies.
Internally generated funds accounted for 66% of the FDA’s total revenue, followed by donor funding at 19% and government support at 15%.
Mr Adom-Siaw said expenditure increased only slightly, from GH¢266 million in 2024 to GH¢267 million in 2025, despite higher staff compensation and growing operational requirements.
However, the FDA fell GH¢95 million short of its projected IGF target of GH¢374 million, a gap he attributed largely to fluctuations in the exchange rate.
He said the Authority would continue to exercise financial discipline, improve revenue collection and periodically review its fees in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
On its regulatory activities, FDA Quality Assurance Manager Joseph Ofosu-Siaw said the Authority received 24,446 product applications in 2025 and processed 24,225 of them, resulting in 20,205 approvals.
The FDA also conducted 15,457 facility inspections and examined 47,189 consignments at the country’s ports, representing a 21.7% increase compared with 2024.
During the year, the Authority carried out 2,250 market surveillance operations and inspected 24,755 retail outlets, leading to the retrieval of 215,876 non-compliant products.
Mr Ofosu-Siaw noted that locally manufactured products accounted for 62% of regulated products registered in 2025, compared with 33% the previous year.
As part of its food safety efforts, the FDA trained 8,693 street food vendors and issued 1,369 permits under its street food safety programme.
Despite these activities, the Authority continues to face challenges with its laboratory infrastructure. Mr Ofosu-Siaw said some laboratory equipment is between eight and 20 years old and has become increasingly difficult to maintain, particularly in facilities that operate around the clock.
The FDA received 7,551 samples for laboratory analysis in 2025, a 76% increase from the previous year. However, it achieved a testing coverage rate of 77%, below its target of 85%.
He appealed to stakeholders and development partners to assist the FDA in acquiring modern laboratory equipment to improve its testing capacity.
The Authority also stepped up enforcement against regulatory violations. Director of Legal Services Perpetual Vicentia Yankson said the FDA issued approximately 80 warnings and imposed 233 administrative fines in 2025.
The violations included unauthorised advertising, the sale of unregistered products, pharmaceutical recalls, unlicensed cold-storage facilities and illegal tobacco-related activities.
Mrs Yankson reminded businesses that advertisements for regulated products must receive prior FDA approval and warned against manufacturing, importing, distributing or selling regulated products without the required registration.
FDA management said it would strengthen intelligence-led enforcement and risk-based surveillance while working more closely with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and other relevant institutions to combat illicit imports and unregistered products.
The Authority also reported that its public education campaigns reached more than 12 million people in 2025, with key messages focusing on tobacco use, medicine safety and food safety.
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