Traditional Medicine Practice Council inducts 36 medical herbalists
Some 36 medical herbalists have been inducted into the Traditional Medicine Practice Council, and called upon to make herbal medicine a viable choice of healthcare needs of the public.
They were conferred Doctors of Medical Herbalists after a four-year undergraduate studies and two years post clinical training.
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A Deputy Minister of Health, Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah, who led them to take their official oaths at the fourth induction ceremony in Accra last Friday, said it had become necessary for the traditional medicine practitioners to conduct themselves in a manner that would strengthen public trust in traditional medicines.
The induction was dubbed: “Government policy on digitalisation in the promotion of traditional medicine”.
Important
Ms Ayeley Mensah explained that traditional medicine practitioners were an important part of the delivery of healthcare, adding that the addition of medical herbalists to the country’s healthcare system was a major boost as the country strived to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.8 of the United Nations.
SDG 3.8 seeks to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines, for all by 2010.
The deputy minister noted that as part of government’s effort to make traditional medicine a viable healthcare option, 55 government hospitals across the country had herbal units to provide herbal medicine services to the public.
She said the government, through its digitalisation agenda, had removed quack doctors from the system.
Commendation
The acting Registrar of the Traditional Medicine Practice Council, Dr Anastasia Yirenkyi, commended the medical herbalists for attaining the feat.
The government, she said, was committed to develop traditional medicine to the level where people seeking healthcare would have the option of conventional medicine or herbal medicine.
She observed that many of country’s population living in the rural areas did not have access to the option of regulated traditional medicine practice although their taxes had helped in developing the professionals, hence the need for the herbal doctors to accept posting to underserved communities.
“This inequality suffered by the deprived and underserved communities has been a matter of great concern to the government, and we are trying to address within the limited resources,” she said.
She commended the leadership of the various educational and regulatory institutions for their selflessness, commitment and dedication in training and nurturing the students and transforming them into professionals.
Limit
The Founder of the Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists, Dr Kofi Busia, underscored the need for the medical herbalists to operate within their purview to avoid the rising incidents of medical negligence.
That, he said, would help to protect the young industry.