Herbal Medicine is an ancient medical system that has provided the world with safe, effective and affordable medicines for at least 60,000 years and even today, the populations of developing countries worldwide continue to rely on herbal medicines for their primary healthcare needs.

Since 1993 in Germany, all doctors trained have studied herbal medicine as part of their training and as much as 90% of their population has used herbal medicine at some point in their lives.

In Ghana, a lot of development into herbal medicine has been carried out by different governments in the past; the establishment of the Ghana Psychic and traditional Healers’ Association by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1961, the Damfa Health Centre which aimed at training Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in 1964, the establishment of the Center for Scientific Research into plant Medicine in 1975, the establishment of Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) in 1991 and recently the commencement of the herbal medicine program at the tertiary Level of education at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 2001.

The MOH therefore considers improving traditional medicine quality and standardizing practice as a potential route to considerable health returns, and has put in place a number of policies to encourage this over the years. This has been consolidated in a comprehensive National Strategic Plan for Traditional and Alternative Medicine Development 2005-2009, based on WHO resolutions and conventions.

Many graduates have successfully completed the Herbal medicine program, which is a six year program in all, with four years in KNUST, Kumasi campus and two years at the Center for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) and Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital both in Akuapem- Mampong in the Eastern Region.

In KNUST, students are taken through the basics in herbal medicine, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Pharmacognosy, Anatomy and Physiology, Pathology, Pharmaceutics and Diagnostic skills. From the third year, students starts clinical training at the University Clinic, KNUST where they work in close with physicians and specialists in the diagnoses of diseases and how to treat those diseases using herbal medicines.

At Center for Plant Medicine Research, students go through training in research of medicinal plants and how to analyze herbal products. Students work in close relationship with research officers in the field of Pharmacology, Toxicology, Microbiology, Pharmaceutics and clinical consultation. In all, students spend six months before graduating to the Tetteh Quarshie Hospital for further clinical training for another six months.

After going through these training, students are examined by a panel of examiners comprising medical doctors and lecturers before awarding the title, Medical Herbalist by the Traditional Medicine and Practice council (TMPC).

In September 2012, clinical herbal medicine was integrated into the main healthcare delivery system in Ghana by the Ministry of Health after piloting of herbal clinics in selected government hospitals nationwide commenced in 2011. The pilot operation as at 2012 covers about 18 government health facilities nationwide.

In spite of these developments in herbal medicine, most of the graduates of this program do not get job placement in these hospitals.This is causing the underutilization of these departments in the various hospitals.

I believe the Ministry of Health should put in more effort to bring on board, many of these practitioners to help in the advocacy and promotion of Herbal medicine. Most people do not have knowledge to these developments. This is because there is no advocacy program to enlighten Ghanaians about these developments.

I believe with the proper management and promotion of Herbal medicine, it will trickle down to the Private Herbal Institutions to become a model for them to emulate and bring sanity to the health system.

By

H/Dr. Maxwell Owusu

President, Herbal Foundation of Ghana

(mogazor@gmail.com)