Ghana’s Green Gold: Leveraging herbal medicine for economic growth

Overview of traditional medicine

The herbal medicine industry has had a chequered history. Traditional medicine practices date back to the pre-colonial era.

Before the advent of colonialism, traditional medical practice was the norm as it was part of our cultural heritage. However, when the colonialists came, things changed.

They brought their religion, described traditional medicine practice as demonic and replaced it with Western or allopathic medicine. When Ghana gained independence, traditional medicine was reintroduced and made to play a major role in the healthcare delivery system for Ghana’s population.

It’s worth noting that traditional medicine and herbal medicine overlap but aren’t identical. Traditional medicine encompasses a variety of practices, including herbalism, acupuncture, spiritual healing, and cultural therapies among others. Herbal medicine, on the other hand, focuses specifically on using plant extracts, herbs, and botanicals for medicinal purposes.

Herbal medicine has a wide patronage not only in Ghana but Africa and in many other cultures around the world. It’s estimated that about 70% of Ghanaians use traditional medicine.

Traditional medicine has a place in Ghanaian culture. It’s deeply rooted in Ghanaian culture and traditions. It’s holistic in orientation, combining physical, spiritual, and emotional healing.

Traditional medicine is community based. Traditional healers serve as community health care providers. The use of traditional medicine highlights our connectedness to nature and the need to respect the ecosystem and the natural environment as a whole.

Key players

There are key players in the traditional medicine and herbal medicine industry; they include traditional healers (herbalists and spiritual healers), Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR), Ghana Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GTMPA), and Ghana Herbal Medicine Association (GHMA).

Herbal medicine and herbal products are widely used because of its many perceived health benefits. Some popular herbal remedies include; aloe vera for managing skin lesions, neem for malaria and other infections, turmeric for inflammation and digestive issues, ginger for digestive related conditions and nausea, and the African potato (HIV/AIDS, immune function).

Herbal medicines are widely used because of their accessibility and affordability, their perceived efficacy and safety, and limited access to conventional health care. Allopathic medicine is expensive and beyond the means of a lot of people.

There is also governmental support for the use of herbal medicine. It has become an integral part of Ghana’s health care delivery system.

There are herbal medicine departments in some of Ghana’s universities. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has been training herbalists to equip them with knowledge on herbal preparations and best practices in the production of herbal medicines and their packaging to make them gain international recognition and acceptance.

Herbal medicine preparation

Herbal medicine preparation is quite an arduous and demanding task with various processes to adhere to. It involves drying and processing of plant materials, notably roots, stem, leaves, flowers etc, extraction (infusion, decoction, maceration), and formulation into teas, tinctures, capsules, powders.

Challenges For Traditional Medicine Practitioners/Herbalists

The traditional/herbal industry is bedeviled with a number of challenges. Firstly,there is lack of regulation and standardization. There are many herbal medicines and herbal products on sale with claims of being efficacious for the treatment of various illnesses. There is no scientific backing for these claims. Some have no proper labels and there are no standard dosages for some of them.

Some herbal medicines that have labels do not indicate the constituents of the product or any indication of manufacturing and expiry dates. There are obvious consequences for this.

This can endanger the lives of those who patronize these herbal products. There is efficacy variability.

There is difficulty in tracing adverse reactions that may arise from using these herbal remedies. It undermines the credibility of herbal medicines. There may be no international recognition and acceptance of herbal products.

To address these problems, good manufacturing practices must be implemented to the letter. There is the need to develop standardized testing protocols for all herbal medicines and herbal products.

Labeling and packaging requirements must be strictly adhered to.

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) must ensure that industry players adhere to the rules and regulations governing their operations. The recalcitrant ones must be brought to book and made to face the full rigors of the law.

Secondly, there is limited scientific evidence and research. As a result of this the herbal medicines shops may be inundated with herbal products of doubtful quality and efficacy. Without clinical trials and approval by FDA, no such products should find their way into the market.

Thirdly, there is stigmatization and skepticism from conventional health care professionals. Even though some government health care facilities have herbal units, not all health care professionals accept the use of herbal medications. Fourthly, there is lack of intellectual property protection. There is unprotected traditional knowledge.

There is the danger of biopiracy, that is the unauthorized use of traditional knowledge. There is lack of patent protection for herbal remedies. In similar vein, there is difficulty registering traditional medicine patents.

The consequences include loss of cultural heritage, economic exploitation, limited incentive for research and development, undervaluation of traditional knowledge and reduced collaboration between traditional practitioners and modern scientists.

To deal with this issue, there is the need to establish and implement traditional knowledge documentation systems, establish benefit-sharing agreements, develop specialized patent systems for traditional medicine, provide training on intellectual property rights and finally encourage collaborative research and development.

Fifthly, traditional medical practitioners and herbalists lack access to modern technology and equipment. The result of this is the unhygienic methods some use during the preparation of herbal remedies.

Governmental intervention is required. There must be technology transfer.

Traditional medicine practitioners should have access to modern equipment and trained to improve the quality of their herbal medicines and herbal products.

Herbal medicine can gain international recognition through such interventions as research and clinical trials, standardization and quality control, regulation and certification, integration into health care systems, and collaboration with conventional health care professionals.

Economic Benefits of Herbal Medicine

The herbal medicine industry is a potential goldmine which properly harnessed can significantly contribute to Ghana’s economic growth. Job creation and employment opportunities exist for the teeming unemployed youth of the country.

Leveraging this green gold will rake in revenues and foreign exchange for the country. Prof. Samuel Ato Duncan (CEO) of COA Research and manufacturing Limited stressed the need to harness the herbal medicine industry for economic growth and development. He said, “We cannot live without plants but we can live without gold.

At the end of the day, if we are able to bring out medication from plants and package them for the international market, … Ghana will have another gold or have something more than gold. We should protect the plants that we have, harness the potential, package them with science and send them out to get foreign exchange to better Ghana.” He made these statements when the Medical Superintendents Group visited his facility at Wusorkrom in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese District of the Central Region.

Herbal medicine industry can promote tourism, that is traditional medicine tourism. When tourists visit the country, they will spend their currency here thereby improving the economy of Ghana.

It would reduce our reliance on imported pharmaceuticals. Similarly, there would be local industries development. People will engage in cultivation, processing and manufacturing.

Health Benefits

Herbal medicines have the efficacy for the treatment of various health conditions. It can augment primary healthcare and rural health services. Its integration with conventional medicine will ensure a wider coverage for Ghana’s population.

Conclusion

This article has covered the historical dynamics of the herbal medicine industry, the challenges, possible solutions, and its potential to boost Ghana’s economic growth and development. In the words of Dr. Margaret Chan (WHO Director-General), “Traditional medicine is not alternative, it’s complimentary.”

With love, cheers!