A GNA Feature by Emmanuel Nyatsikor
Ho, July 21, GNA – The good old book, the Bible in Ezekiel chapter 47: 12 says in part “and by the river upon the bank thereof on this side and on that side shall grow all trees… and the leaves thereof for medicine” and Revelation Chapter 22: 2 also says “…… and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
The Genesis
Looking at this Bible verse, it means God created trees and herbs not only as food for humans and animals but also to be medicine for their healing.
Before the arrival of the ‘Whiteman’ and the advent of orthodox medicine, our forefathers were their own “doctors.”
They were said to be using herbal medicines, as the name connotes from trees and herbs, some in liquid forms, some in powdered forms, ointments and some as chewing sticks to cure all types of ailments, even mental disorders.
Herbal medicines can be classified even as food and dietary supplements and aphrodisiacs.
They were seasoned herbalists and God being so merciful, the present generation also have seasoned herbalists in our communities.
All of us, except the skeptics will agree that our forefathers were healthier and had longer lifespan than we are today because they lived on herbs, leaves, and roots.
Traditional medicines play a vital healthcare role in many African communities. Accessibility, availability, affordability, cultural acceptance as well as spiritual, religious and sociological values make them a preferred option for many people over conventional therapy. There are significantly higher number of patients seeking traditional remedies compared with conventional treatment.
Statistics
In Ghana, where some 70 per cent of patients use herbal medicine. The country’s Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine researches and develops traditional medicines and has collaborated with traditional health practitioners since 1975.
When the whiteman arrived, they brainwashed us to believe that herbal medicine is demonic, contains poisonous substances and not good for human use.
Since then, the African or blackman sees herbs and herbal medicines as such.
The ‘whiteman’ then turned around to use the very trees, their roots, backs, and leaves that they bastardised, turned them into liquid and powder, added chemicals to them and championed their use.
I am not doubting the efficacy of orthodox medicine nor am I trying to bastardise it, but truth be told, many of such drugs are sources of potent toxins.
In fact, many of the Whiteman made drugs we use today could be toxic, poisoning predators that cause serious adverse reactions, such as liver damage and kidney failures.
Thank God, many Africans, including Ghanaians are now beginning to see the deceit of the and now reverting to herbal medicine.
Herbal medicine, which is the oldest and most widely utilized out of the different therapeutic systems in Africa and other developing countries, is now gaining its past glory.
Research
According to research by the World Health Organization (WHO), this is due to but not limited to the belief of rural dwellers in their indigenous cultures, that herbal medicines are natural and safe, accessibility and cost effective with superior efficacy of herbal medicines,
Others are confidentiality of health problem information, fear of erroneous diagnosis, long waiting periods and queue involved to see a medical doctor and advertisement of herbal products.
WHO has made a substantial contribution to the acknowledgment and acceptance of traditional medicine in developing countries.
Between 2002 and 2005, it provided a framework to promote traditional medicine to reduce the high death rate in developing countries.
WHO inspires African member countries to endorse and incorporate traditional medicine into their health system.
It said the four objectives to incorporate traditional medicine into their national Healthcare system are: to ensure traditional medicines are easily accessible, available, and affordable, to ensure that they are of high quality and effective without compromising on their safety for the populace, to promote the therapeutic use of traditional medicine for consumers and to ensure that traditional healers/specialists get the appropriate training and education required to improve in the preparation of their herbal products.
A growing number of African States are taking steps to integrate traditional medicine into their national health systems.
Legal Framework
Some 40 countries have adopted national policies and legal frameworks for traditional health care practice, serving as guides for action to ensure access to quality traditional medicine products.
Although most Ghanaians are now patronizing herbal medicine, some are still holding to the negative perceptions about herbal products resulting from deceitful producers and vendors.
This called for enhanced education and monitoring to ensure that effective herbal products are used.
Recommendations
The Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standards Authority and the relevant security services should as a matter of urgency weed out charlatans from selling unwholesome herbal products to the populace.
They should ensure that all herbal products carry adequate warning labels about side effects and reactions and expiry dates.
The populace should also be educated on the dangers of using unregistered herbal products and not give out their community information centres to charlatans to market their produce.
Thankfully, registered herbal products are now being sold in all pharmacies and drug stores and hospitals have herbal medicine sections.
If the government will help qualified traditional medicine producers to produce high quality medicines, herbal products can be a foreign exchange earner for the country.
Traditional medicine backed with scientific methods, tools and guidelines can make a significant contribution to better access to medicines and achieving universal health coverage in Africa.
GNA