Traditional medicine practitioners appeal for council

THE Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) has appealed to the government, particularly the health ministry, to set up a council for the smooth running of the association, in accordance with Act 578 of the Constitution.
It said the establishment of the council would bring sanity into traditional medicine practice and also pave the way for traditional medicine to be incorporated into the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The National Organiser of the association, Mr Kwadwo Obiri, told the Daily Graphic in Accra on Thursday, after a three-day workshop, that the absence of a council to see to the efficient administration of the association since the passage of the Act in 2000 was hampering the effectiveness of their activities.
Currently, he indicated, the association had in place a temporary secretariat which was being handled by a government appointee, Mr Hunua Akakpo, who acts as registrar.
According to him, Mr Akakpo was informally registering members into the council without their approval and, therefore, it would be expedient if the government facilitated the establishment of the council, in accordance with the provisions of Act 578.
The Act, he noted, indicated that the membership of council was to be 11, six of whom were to be members of the association.
Mr Obiri said the formation of the council would make it possible for herbal clinics to be given accreditation and for practitioners to operate legally in the country, stating that though they needed a registrar to handle the secretariat, the person ought to work hand in hand with members of the association to see to the establishment of the council but not to the recruit members indiscriminately to constitute the council against their will.
To ensure that the secretariat did the right thing, the association sought the help of the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) secretariat to train their members on how to practise their profession without any hindrances and constitute the council.
Fortunately for them, he said, they had completed their training and now had the requisite knowledge to handle the administration of the council, in line with government policy.
The training, he said, apart from helping them to advocate the establishment of the council, was also aimed at building the capacity of traditional medicine practitioners to enable them offer their best.
Mr Obiri appealed to all traditional medicine practitioners to go about their duties in accordance with the ethics of traditional medicine practice. He hinted that a national task force would embark on an operation to flush out quacks in the sector in order to attract public confidence.
In all 20 practitioners took part in the three-day workshop, after which they were presented with certificates of participation.