By Patrick Obeng
Accra, Aug. 02, GNA—Dr Sheikh Amen Bonsu, Chief Executive Officer of the Amen Scientific Herbal and Alternative Hospital says traditional medicine has a long history of contributing to conventional medicine and continues to hold prominence.
He said for centuries across countries, people have turned to traditional healers, home remedies and ancient medical knowledge to address their health and well-being needs.
Dr Sheikh Bonsu was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on the claims being circulated around that people should patronize orthodox medicines rather than traditional medicine.
He said the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Report on Traditional and Complementary Medicine 2019 indicated that various systems of traditional medicine being used around the world included acupuncture, herbal medicines, indigenous traditional medicine, homoeopathy, naturopathy, and chiropractic.
Dr Sheikh Bonsu said traditional medicine was sometimes seen as pre-scientific, its practices and treatments to be replaced by modern, better, more efficient science-based medicine.
‘What is less known, however, is its contribution to modern science and medicine and a long history of traditional products and practices being translated into effective treatments for health conditions,’ he said.
The Chief Executive Officer said around 40 per cent of pharmaceutical products today are drawn from nature and traditional knowledge including landmark drugs, which include aspirin, artemisinin, and childhood cancer treatments.
He said a closer look at these drugs revealed that the scientists behind them built off traditional knowledge to achieve their breakthrough discoveries, adding that modern medicine has built on what nature has to offer and has drawn upon traditional systems of knowledge of how medicinal plants, herbs, roots, and bark were wielded to cure diseases across civilization.
Dr Osei Owusu, Medical Herbalist of the Hospital said traditional medicine had proven to be highly effective and safe from consumption and that the challenge was the lack of scientific data and documentation to prove its safety and efficacy years ago.
He said a few Hospitals now had units where herbal treatment was administered to patients who requested that after laboratory tests were done.
‘It is time Ghanaians go back to their first love and value traditional medicine,’ the Medical Herbalist added.
GNA