Stranded ARVs, Shortened Lifelines: Why Ghana Must Act Now

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By Richard Agodzo

In 2024, headlines across Ghana revealed a crisis that should never happen in a public health system committed to saving lives: 182 containers of medical supplies were stranded at the Tema Port, many of them carrying life‑saving antiretroviral medicines (ARVs). What followed was not just a logistical failure; it became a lived crisis for persons living with HIV (PLHIVs) across the country.


When bureaucracy becomes a health emergency

As the containers sat at the port, communities began to feel the impact almost immediately. Health facilities in several regions reported drug rationing, forcing patients to receive shorter refills or switch regimens unnecessarily. For a treatment that depends on strict adherence, even short disruptions carry serious risks.

“I went to the clinic and was told to return in two weeks instead of my usual three months. I was scared. HIV does not wait for paperwork,” a 29‑year‑old woman living with HIV in Greater Accra shared.



The delay did more than slow distribution. ARVs have a fixed shelf life, and time lost at the port is time stolen from patients. By the time these medicines reached health facilities, a portion of their lifespan had already been consumed.

A ticking clock: expiry looming in 2026

The situation has now taken an even more alarming turn. By July 2026, many of the delayed ARVs will reach their expiry dates, with only about one month of shelf life remaining afterwards. This creates a narrow and risky window for distribution and use.

Late arrival at facilities reduces the ability of health workers to plan, stock, and dispense medicines safely. It also increases the likelihood of wastage, a painful irony when patients are simultaneously being rationed.

“They say my medicine may expire soon, but I am being given less. How can medicine be expiring while people still need it?” asked a young man living with HIV in the Northern Region.

The cost of unreasonable tariffs

Compounding the problem are unreasonable tariffs imposed on essential, often donated, medical commodities. Millions of cedis are demanded before these life‑saving supplies can be cleared. In a cruel twist, medicines that could soon be considered waste are still attracting high clearance costs.

This raises a hard question: Why should Ghana pay millions for medicines that may expire because of delays within the system itself? The economic loss is real, but the human cost is far greater.

“It feels like our lives are being taxed,” a community advocate living with HIV said. “These drugs are not luxury items. They are the difference between life and death.”

The case for local manufacturing

To prevent a repeat of this crisis, Ghana must think boldly and long‑term. One clear solution is local manufacturing of antiretroviral medicines. Producing ARVs locally would:

  • Reduce dependence on imports and port clearance processes
  • Protect the shelf life of medicines
  • Create jobs and strengthen Ghana’s pharmaceutical sector
  • Position Ghana as a supplier to the ECOWAS sub‑region

These reflections were strongly echoed at ICASA 2025, where advocates, scientists, and policymakers emphasised the urgent need for local ARV manufacturing capacity in Africa, including Ghana.

ICASA participants at Atlantic Lifesciences Limited

Beyond treatment: the call for an HIV cure

While access to treatment remains critical, advocates and activists must continue to champion the call for an HIV cure. PLHIVs should not be forced into a lifetime of vulnerability due to supply chain failures, funding cuts, or political inaction.

“We are grateful for ARVs, but we are tired of living at the mercy of systems that fail us,” one long‑term survivor reflected. “We deserve a future without HIV.”

The shrinking funding space and a national responsibility

International donor funding for HIV continues to decline. As a result, some HIV interventions in parts of Ghana have already come to a halt. Prevention, community outreach, and psychosocial support programmes are being scaled down or stopped entirely.

This reality makes the case for a fully functional National HIV and AIDS Fund more urgent than ever. Ghana can no longer rely primarily on external donors to sustain its HIV response.

The Government of Ghana must critically examine:

  • How the National HIV and AIDS Fund can be operationalised and sustainably financed
  • How domestic resources can protect essential HIV services
  • How communities of PLHIVs can be meaningfully involved in decision‑making

A matter of urgency, not charity

The ARVs stranded at Tema Port are not just containers of medicine; they represent shortened lifelines, missed opportunities, and avoidable anxiety for thousands of Ghanaians living with HIV.

“All we are asking for is consistency,” a mother living with HIV said quietly. “Let the medicine be there. Let us live.”

Ghana has the expertise, the advocacy voices, and the moral obligation to do better. Local manufacturing, fair port policies, sustainable funding, and a renewed push for a cure are no longer optional. They are urgent necessities.

If we fail to act now, we risk turning life‑saving medicine into expired symbols of neglect, and that is a cost Ghana cannot afford.


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