TMPC to newly inducted herbalists to accept postings to rural communities

Registrar of the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC), Dr. Yakubu Tobor Yusuf, has called on newly inducted medical herbalists to respond positively when the government calls upon them to serve, particularly in rural and underserved communities across the country.

Speaking at the 7th Medical Herbalist Induction Ceremony organised by the TMPC, Dr. Yusuf acknowledged that many young professionals often weigh factors such as career opportunities, infrastructure, and quality of life when considering where to work.

“You think about whether Accra or Kumasi might offer a faster path to the life you have imagined. I understand. But hear me on this, the communities that need you most are not the ones with the best hospitals,” he said.

He urged the inductees to rise to the occasion by serving in deprived areas and providing hope to communities where access to healthcare remains limited.

According to him, evidence-based traditional medicine can play a critical role in improving healthcare delivery in communities that have often been neglected.

The induction ceremony was held under the theme, “Advancing Primary Healthcare Through Research-Driven Herbal Medicine Integration.”

Dr. Yusuf noted that the adoption of the World Health Organization’s Global Traditional Medicine Strategy, which runs through 2034, has placed traditional medicine at the centre of global health discussions.

He described the current period as one of the most exciting moments in the history of traditional medicine and encouraged the newly inducted practitioners to seize the opportunity to advance plant-based medicine.

“Here in Ghana, approximately 70 percent of our people rely on herbal and traditional medicine as part of their primary healthcare. That is the backbone of how this nation heals, and yet our sector remains underleveraged, under-resourced, and under-recognised. Every one of you sitting in this hall today has the power and the responsibility to change that,” he stated.

Speaking on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Victor Asare Bampoe, the Acting Administrative Secretary of the NHIA, Dr. Evelyn Abayaah-Issah, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to promoting research-driven herbal medicine through the integration of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine into the mainstream healthcare system.

She said significant progress has been made through the establishment of herbal medicine units in public health facilities, the training and deployment of medical herbalists, and the development of policies aimed at fostering collaboration between conventional and traditional healthcare practitioners.

Dr. Abayaah-Issah further highlighted the work of the Centre for Plant Medicine Research at Mampong-Akuapem, which has served for decades as a national centre of excellence for the scientific validation, development, and promotion of herbal medicinal products.

She revealed that one of the most significant developments currently underway is the effort to include approved herbal medicines on Ghana's Essential Medicines List. Dr Evelyn Abayaah-Issah

“The inclusion of herbal medicines on the Essential Medicines List represents a landmark step toward legitimising and mainstreaming the contributions of Medical Herbalists within our national health system. It signals formal recognition by government that evidence-based herbal medicines are not peripheral to healthcare delivery but are a core component of the medicines that Ghanaians need access to, particularly at the primary healthcare level,” she added.