The President of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana (PMAG), Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, has observed that herbal medicines need to be regulated as people react to even natural produce such as vegetables.
The PMAG president was speaking to DAILY GUIDE in an interview concerning recent operations of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) relating to herbal and traditional medicines in the country.
Dr. Agyekum Addo, who is also the chief executive officer of Kama Industries, a pharmaceutical company, was of the view that once herbalists went into commercial production, they were into pharmaceuticals and therefore would require training on formulation.
One also needed training on how to package the products since “not all medicines could stand plastics or glass bottles, especially in different colours, since some product are sensitive to light,” he stressed.
Large-scale production needs to go through some operational procedures which usually do not pertain in most of the herbal preparation. The FDB therefore seeks to reform and bring some kind of standardization into the system where all persons who produce medicine, be it orthodox or herbal, would have to conform.
This would ensure that products which get to consumers are of high quality and not inferior or expired.
Asked about his thoughts on issues raised by the traditional healers association, Dr. Addo noted that the FDB as well as the traditional healers or herbalists did not need to antagonize each other. He maintained that to achieve good public health, the two entities as well as other stakeholders needed understanding, love, care and harmony to operate and give off their best.
Dr. Addo, who conducted Daily Guide round the production unit of KAMA Industries, indicated that the FDB ought to be encouraged to do their work, adding that through the encouragement of the FDB and its new standards, the company acquired the new ultra-modern production facility.
He advised that herbalists should not see the FDB as a monstrous organisation with the aim of running their businesses down since it was doing its mandatory work. Dr. Addo stressed that there had been occasions when the products of member organisations had been recalled by the FDB so it was not just about herbalists.
The FDB has the right to regulate food and drugs in the country to ensure that only the best of products get onto the Ghanaian market. The PMAG president said if indeed the FDB’s analysis showed that products of Se Menhyia Herbal Clinic contained yeast, moulds and other toxins, then, indeed there was cause for worry.
He therefore used the opportunity to call on leaders of the traditional healers and Herbal Medicine Producers Associations to come on board.
“Our doors are opened for discussions and consultations,” he noted.
The PMAG president said they were ready to help them research, among other things, if only they collaborated with his outfit.