Accra, Aug 31, GNA - Mrs Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt, Acting Programme Manager of Ghana National Drugs Programme, on Tuesday launched in Accra, two documents on the code of ethics and baseline studies for traditional medicine practitioners.

Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Associations (GHAFTRAM) developed the 70- articles code with the support of the Ministry of Health through the Ghana National Drug Programme for self-regulation by the Association.

By the code of ethics no traditional medicine practitioner should practice orthodox medicine and should do no harm or cause financial loss to his or her clients.

Mrs Gyansa-Lutterodt said as a result of modern social influence such strong codes seemed to be eroding away with practically no overlords to supervise traditional medicine practice. The launching of the code coincided with the launch of the Second African Traditional Medicine Day.

Mrs Gyansa-Lutterodt said because of the lack of supervision "some medicine men" were perceived as unpredictable and potentially dangerous for selling any concoction to make some money.

She said much as the state had the responsibility to enact laws and establish regulatory councils to control the negative impact of bad traditional practices, it was the responsibility of professional associations to ensure that the right thing was done to preserve their image.

She said the recently launched second edition of the national drug policy sought to ensure that the necessary capacity was built within the traditional and Alternative Medicines Directorate to forge links with partners and also to ensure that traditional preparations were safe, efficacious and of good quality.