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The neem tree is a popular tree with medicinal values
The neem tree is a popular tree with medicinal values

Special fund for traditional medicine development needed

Welcome Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, to this special, sensitive and life-giving ministry. Congratulations Sir.

I was privileged to listen to your first address to the staff of the ministry. I saw brilliance, passion and commitment to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for the citizens of Ghana through the wonderful benchmarks you tabled to the staff.

As I sat in the meeting, I asked myself: How do we achieve UHC for the citizens without traditional and alternative medicine (TAM)? How do we develop orthodox medicine while the needed attention to TAM is almost at ground zero?

 

The wealth of every nation is the health of its citizenry. As indicated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 70 per cent of the population in developing countries including Ghana depend on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare needs.

 Recognising the need to develop this branch of medicine, Dr Kwame Nkrumah initiated efforts to promote traditional medicine practice in 1961. He created the Ghana Psychic and Traditional Healers Association, which aims at upholding, promoting and protecting the best in psychic and traditional healing in Ghana. Since then, successive governments contributed to the development of traditional medicine by establishing the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine (CSRPM), now Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) at Mampong-Akuapem, in 1975 to conduct and promote research for the improvement of phytomedicines or plant medicines.

Research

The institution, which is also an agency of the Ministry of Health, has developed 35 well-researched plant-based products. The Primary Health Training for Indigenous Healers (PRHETIH) project, which was organised by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Catholic Holy Family Hospital, followed in 1979. Pharmaceutical sector survey was subsequently done with reference to traditional medicine production capacity needs in 1985.

In 1991, the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Department was set up within the Ministry of Health to strengthen and give direction to the development and promotion of traditional medicines in Ghana with special emphasis on herbal medicine. The department was elevated to a full directorate, the Traditional And Alternative Medicine Directorate (TAMD), in 1999, which has been headed by a director since then.

This was then followed by the promulgation of the Food and Drugs Laws, 1992, (PNDCL 305B) to regulate herbal medicines and the practice of traditional medicine in 1992, which among others is to certify the sale of traditional medicine products to the public.

WHO on traditional medicine

The Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) also known as the Federation was established in 1999 by the then government under the auspices of the Council for Indigenous Business Associations (CIBA) in Ghana. The Traditional Medicine Practice Act, (Act 575), came into being in the year 2000 to regulate herbal medicines and the practice of traditional medicine.

The World Health Assembly, recognising the need for a holistic approach to traditional medicine therapies and practices to the diagnosis, prevention or elimination of physical, mental and social illnesses, urges member States to among others: accelerate the implementation of national policies, strategies and plans and create budget lines to support the implementation of the adopted regional strategy for traditional medicine; take concrete steps to assess the funding needs for traditional medicine research and development, and allocate adequate financial resources from national budgets while considering innovative funding sources and mechanisms; document and preserve traditional medicine knowledge and practices in their various forms and develop national legislation for the protection of intellectual property rights and access to biological resources and strengthen regulation of traditional medicine practitioners, practices and products, including advertising, and protect the public against quack practitioners and illicit products.

Where are we now?

 We are seven years into the second decade (2011-2020) of african traditional medicine development. There is the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of national policies, strategies and plans and create budget lines to support the implementation of the adopted regional strategy for traditional medicine. Most of the policies at the moment are at the implementation stages which require funding to move to the next stages.

Some of the policies, strategies and plans are monitoring and evaluating the integration of 19 pilot herbal centres within selected health facilities across the nation and possible scale-up to other facilities; strengthening and resourcing research institutions to concentrate on research and development of herbal medicine; reviewing the essential herbal medicine list and its incorporation into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and finalising the documentation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

Others are supporting members of GHAFTRAM with potential herbal medicines for research and development; seeking financial clearance for medical herbalists and strengthening the capacity of national medicines regulatory authorities to issue marketing authorisation for traditional medicine products that meet national criteria and WHO norms and standards of quality, safety and efficacy, and to undertake joint reviews of traditional medicine products registration files.

Appeal

Honourable Minister, the contribution of traditional medicine to the healthcare needs of the people of Ghana has been enormous. The Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) and members of GHAFTRAM have potential herbal medicine products for the prophylaxis and the treatment of Cancers, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), management of stroke, hypertension, diabetes, malaria, anti-rabies and anti -snake vaccines. If funds are released for research and development of these products, we are likely to cut down the health budget drastically.

Again, the Directorate-Traditional and Alternative Medicine Directorate (TAMD) of the Ministry of Health needs to be fully resourced to be able to plan, organise, direct and coordinate the policy framework on traditional medicine. By this, Ghana will achieve the regional strategies by the year 2020.

I appeal to you to set aside funds for the development of traditional and alternative medicine in Ghana. We must provide safe and quality traditional medicine products and services to the citizens of Ghana.

 

 

* The writer is Pharm. Dr (MRS) Anastasia Yirenkyi, acting Director of Traditional and Alternative Medicine Directorate of the Ministry of Health and Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGh) and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)

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