The Greater Accra Chairman of Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC), Mr. Oscar Asamaoh Donkoh, has appealed to government and the National health insurance Authority to include traditional herbal medicine in the national health insurance scheme as indicated in the Scheme’s Act.

He said this would help pharmacies and some herbal dealers to avoid the sale of fake or duplicated herbal medicines to members of the general public.

Mr. Oscar Donkor again appealed to the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health service to ensure an active collaboration between traditional medicine practitioners and the enforcement of the profession by the Traditional Medicine Practice Council.

He expressed concern about the fragmentation amongst practitioners “as some of the herbal dealers are money centered and their action cause embarrassment to the fraternity and bring the name of the profession into disrepute”.

Mr. Oscar further appealed to FDA to question herbal dealers to provide their membership with the traditional medicine council before registering them.

Dr. George Kuffour, senior lecture at KNUST at the department of herbal medicine, who was lecturing Greater Accra herbal practitioners’ branch on the theme, “Practice Preference and Problems”, called on government to ensure that the cost of testing the usefulness and efficacy of herbal medicines at the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine is affordable to practitioners of traditional medicine.

He called for a system in research and educational institutions to ensure that research findings are made known to all traditional medicine practitioners in a timely manner through periodic briefings and workshop.