The Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) has appealed to the Minister of Health to add traditional medicines to the list of approved drugs on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

This, according to the association, will lessen the burden of patients who pay huge sums of money when they patronage their facilities to seek medical attention.

The appeal was made by the General Secretary of GHAFTRAM, Nana Kwadwo Obiri, after inspecting facilities at the 21st Clinic at Ahwiaa in the Kwabre East municipal of the Ashanti region on Monday, May 31, 2021.

The inspection by the National Executives of GHAFTRAM was part of the regional tour being embarked by the association to ascertain the effects of COVID-19 on their members countrywide.

“Health Ministry has accredited traditional medicine practitioners as service providers of the NHIS, but our medicines are yet to add the traditional medicines to their list, this, we appeal to the ministry to do so to improve the healthcare delivery in the country,” Nana Obiri appealed.

The Ahwiaa branch Manager of 21st Clinic, Daniel Opoku Agyemang, added his voice on the appeal made by GHAFTRAM on the NHIS, saying that patients, who are mostly the elderly, are unable to buy medicines to cure their ailments for lack of money.

Impact of COVID-19

After touring the 21st Clinic, Nana Kwadwo Obiri found out that the COVID has had serious effects on the activities of the clinic and pleaded with the government “to extend COVID interventions to the traditional medicine practitioners in the so that they can come back to businesses.”

The National Executives of GHAFTRAM highly commended the management of 21st Clinic for adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols in their line of duties and scientifically administering their healthcare.