An exhibitor introduces medical equipment to a visitor at the third China-West Africa Medical Expo and AI Diagnosis Summit in Accra, Ghana, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)
by Justice Lee Adoboe
ACCRA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Ghana on Wednesday proposed deeper cooperation between China, Ghana, and the rest of West Africa to achieve improved outcomes of healthcare in the subregion.
Deputy Health Minister Grace Ayensu-Danquah urged during the third China-West Africa Medical Expo and AI Diagnosis Summit that health sector partnerships with China should go beyond importing finished products to local manufacturing and assembly, technology transfer, research collaboration, professional training, and investment in local technical capacity.
With that, Ayensu-Danquah said the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) subregion would achieve stronger health security, create jobs, and contribute to a more resilient health system.
She said Ghana's cooperation with China, for instance, presents important opportunities to tap into Chinese expertise in manufacturing, engineering, technology, and healthcare infrastructure to support the country's ambitions for the health sector.
Moreover, according to the deputy minister, Ghana's desire for such partnerships is borne out of the quest to build partnerships that leave lasting legacies of enhanced capacity through skills development, research, innovation, and technology transfer.
"Ghana welcomes deeper cooperation with China, our West African neighbors, and all partners represented at this summit. Let us use this opportunity to build partnerships that strengthen primary healthcare, advance responsible innovation, expand local capacity, and improve health outcomes across Ghana and the wider ECOWAS subregion," she urged.
Ayensu-Danquah, therefore, urged that the success of this summit should be measured by the practical partnerships, new investments, research collaborations, technology transfers, local manufacturing, professional training, and technologies that emerge from the summit to improve services in the subregion.
Jiang Sihong, president of the Health Community of West Africa, a Chinese establishment in Ghana, and organizers of the summit, urged the participants to seize the opportunity to create cooperation that culminates in real projects, real businesses, real jobs, real technology transfer, and real improvements in healthcare.
"We also want to explore stronger cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), working with the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, teaching hospitals, and other relevant institutions to establish appropriate TCM treatment centers in Ghana," Jiang added.
Exhibitors from China, including pharmaceutical, medical engineering, health technology and artificial intelligence companies, mounted their exhibition stands to showcase their latest offers to their African counterparts.
Also, health officials, investors, public and private sector health professionals, exhibitors, and herbal medical practitioners from Togo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Mali, and other West African countries are attending the three-day summit and exhibition. ■