The Dharmandra Kumar Tyagi (DKT) International Ghana a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) on Wednesday, held a stakeholder forum in Bolgatanga to school Pharmacists, Midwives and Over The Counter (OTC) medicine sellers on the need to report complains of adverse drug effects for action.

Mr Adamu Abdulai, the Assistant General Manager of DKT International Ghana, who facilitated the workshop, said the Organisation was established in 2011, but started operations in Ghana in 2012.

He said it held similar workshops across the country to enlighten stakeholders on the adverse effects of drugs, especially DKT products and urged health professionals to report any side effects of any of its products, for appropriate action.

The DKT International deals in reproductive and family planning products such as contraceptive pills, fiesta strawberry lubricants and condoms among others.

Mr Abdulai said his outfit concentrated on family planning products because it wanted members of the public to plan their families to help improve their living conditions.

He noted that some admissions to hospitals were as a result of adverse drug reactions, “We combine a lot of drugs that we are not supposed to combine and because of drug-drug interactions, we might end up in the hospital,” he said.

He said some people were of the wrong opinion that herbal medicines had no side effects, and explained that because the toxicity of herbal medicines were not known, some members of the public took it for granted that it was safe to take them anyhow.

Dr Abdul-Razak Dokurugu, the Upper East Regional Deputy Director of Health Services in charge of Clinical Care, said the essence of the workshop was in line with the Ghana Health Service policy of educating members of the public.
He said health professionals could not carry out their mandate of informing the public if they were not well informed themselves about the adverse effects of the pharmacological products they prescribed to their clients.

Dr Dokurugu said some of the products of the Organisation were new to health professionals, especially midwives, “so it is good that the facilitator is taking his time to explain how they work and what the benefits are, it will help our workers educate the general public on how to use some of these contraceptives.”

He said the workshop was in detail and the health professionals would have significant levels of what pharmacovigilance was about, adding that pharmacovigilance was one of the key pillars in managing patients introduced onto medications.

The Deputy Director said pharmacovigilance gave patients the opportunity to understand the medicines they took and the potential unwanted effects to expect.

“So in one aspect, you are arming the patient who is using the medicine, and on the second aspect you are arming the health care worker to have a deeper understanding because it opens up the communication between the user and the prescriber.”

Ms Evelyn Lugugia, a Midwife at the Ayamfoaya Memorial Clinic at Kongo in the Nabdam District, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in interview after the workshop that “I have learnt a lot about reporting on adverse effects of drugs, it will not only help me in my midwifery practice, but will help in my general practice.”

She said “I would share the knowledge with the rest of the health professionals at my facility so that they would be able to help the general public.”