In Ghana, fewer than 15% of more than 100,000 traditional medicine practitioners are listed in the register of the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC). This was stated by the council’s registrar, Yakubu Tobor Yusif, during a media event in Accra, MyJoyOnline reports.
According to Yusif, the low registration rate makes proper regulatory oversight of practitioners’ activities more difficult. Over the past six months, the council has worked with relevant associations at the district level to encourage more practitioners to register and has also opened new regional and district offices.
Inspections and licences
The TMPC has inspected more than 500 premises where traditional medicine is practiced. Some facilities were closed because they posed a risk to public health, the registrar said.
Yusif urged citizens to use only licensed practitioners and products that have undergone the required regulatory procedures. Under the law, every licensed facility must display a licence with a QR code that can be used to verify a practitioner’s status.
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The council has also tracked more than 500 practitioners operating in unregulated areas on social media and said it intends to take action against them.
Products, sanctions and training
The TMPC works with Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). Licensed practitioners may prepare fresh herbal medicines for patients without labelling or branding. At the same time, products that are stored, labelled or branded must be submitted to the FDA for certification and registration.
Working without a licence may be punishable by a fine of up to 500 penalty units, or 6,000 Ghanaian cedis, imprisonment for up to two years, or both penalties. In the Volta Region, a traditional medicine practitioner suspected of working without a licence was detained; according to the council, the person is to appear in court.
Licences must be renewed annually, subject to continuous professional development, payment of prescribed fees and a repeat inspection of the premises. The governing board is also considering a six-month training programme for herbalists, bone setters, midwives and spiritual healers, which is planned to be taught in local languages while taking practitioners’ experience into account.
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