By William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday, 31 October 2006
FOR the first time, members of the Ghana Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) not only have identity cards but also a code of ethics.
This is to ensure that only members of the association manufacture and sell traditional medicine, certified by the relevant authorities.
At a ceremony in Accra on Sunday, the new identity cards were launched by Major (rtd), Courage Quashigah, Minister of Health.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Joachim Soweta, country representative of the World Health Organization, noted that Ghana is a step ahead of other African countries in efforts to improve the use of traditional medicines.
"The structures are almost in place. What you need now is to ensure that there is quality, safety and rational use of traditional medicines", he explained.
Major Quashigah said about 70 percent of rural and peri-urban people seek traditional remedies or practices for their health needs.
As a result,the Mimister said the situation placed enormous responsibility on the health ministry to "take a critical look at traditional medicine practices to ensure safety and effectiveness of the services."
He said a structure of relationship and control through education and regulations were required to open traditional medicine to modernization and quality assurance.
Major Quashigah said a code of ethics and standard practice for traditional medicine practitioners had been developed and further translated into Twi, Ewe and Dagbani.
He said a committee is working on an essential herbal medicines list to select safe and efficacious products for use, while the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has introduced a programme for the study in herbal medicine.
He charged practitioners to "be at the forefront of environmental hygiene and sanitation," and also make themselves and products attractive "so that nobody will have an excuse to ignore you."
Nana Agya Appiah, president of GHAFTRAM, said that the launch of the membership card would ensure "a sense of identity and belongingness."
"Bearing the card entails enormous responsibility. It is true for us to move to support government to see to the health needs of the people."
Miss Ghana 2005 Lamisi Mbillah, a guest at the event, called on all traditional medicine practitioners to join GHAFTRAM to ensure the rapid development of traditional medicine.
Ms. Mbillah has been supporting the WHO and the MOH in the guinea-worm eradication campaign and this project won her the title of "Beauty with a purpose" at the just ended Miss World Beauty pageant held in Warsaw, Poland last month.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene who was represented by the Samankwahene, bought one of the cards for ¢50 million as his contribution towards the promotion of traditional medicine in the country.
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