Calls have mounted for the creation of a single national standard for traditional remedies alongside an urgent review of how Ghana’s Essential Herbal Medicines List is operated. Sector experts have warned that regulatory discrepancies and flawed purchasing practices are severely stifling the growth of the local industry.
The demands were raised during the climax of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Department of Herbal Medicine, housed within the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences under the College of Health Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Addressing the gathering, the General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Associations, Okogye Abibiduro Nana Kwadwo Kobiri, urged state authorities to formulate a unified national benchmark to steer both producers and regulatory bodies.
He argued that the Ghana Standards Authority must introduce streamlined guidelines that would be universally recognized by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the Traditional Medicine Practice Council, and commercial operators, thereby removing existing regulatory friction.
“It is time the Ghana Standards Authority comes out with a standard procedure for herbal medicines so that the FDA, the Traditional Medicine Practice Council and industry all work with the same standard. The changing policies are creating confusion for industry,” he asserted.
Nana Kobiri further raised alarms over the current execution of the Essential Herbal Medicines List, highlighting that state health centers overwhelmingly source their products from the Centre for Plant Medicine Research, despite the Ministry of Health having approved a far broader directory.
He maintained that prioritizing items from a single entity restricts the commercial expansion of independent manufacturers and practitioners across the nation.
“Mampong has only a few products on the list. If hospitals purchase only those products, it does not represent the entire traditional medicine sector. The Centre is supposed to conduct research for the industry, not compete with it,” he said.
Also taking the platform, Professor Regina Appiah-Opong from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research appealed to both government and private entities to inject substantial financial backing into research and development within the sector.
She stressed that targeted investment remains crucial to ensuring locally manufactured remedies undergo rigorous scientific scrutiny—encompassing safety protocols, precise dosage formulation, shelf-life verification, and quality control—to elevate public trust and bolster international adoption.
Prof. Appiah-Opong observed that Ghana’s traditional medicine market continues to underperform economically when compared to nations like South Africa and Egypt, attributing the shortfall largely to inadequate funding for scientific validation and commercial scale-up.
“The first one, as we all know, is money. We need funds to do research. We have to ensure that every herbal medicine produced is carefully screened for dosage, shelf life and everything that makes that product standard for people to be confident in it, not only in Ghana but also abroad,” she stated.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
