Accra, July 17, GNA - Dr Benjamin Kumbuor, Deputy Minister of Health, on Friday said government would harness the economic potential of traditional medicine as a foreign-exchange earner.

He described traditional medicine as the "green gold' upon which the country's economy could hinged, adding that government would not relent in its efforts to support the traditional healthcare system. Dr Kumbuor was speaking at the launch of the registration and licensing of traditional health practitioners in Accra.

He observed that traditional health practitioners provide the healthcare needs of about 70 per cent of Ghanaians and asked the Ministry of Health (MOH) to set up a regulatory mechanism to protect people who patronise their services.

Dr Kumbuor expressed worry that the traditional system of healthcare practice is besieged by quack practitioners resulting in unacceptable public health hazards to those who patronized their services.

"These practitioners, mainly self-styled professionals in the private sector, create the high incidence of quackery and unethical practices and loss of public confidence in traditional health practice," he said.

The launch of the registration and licensing exercise was aimed at promoting professionalism in traditional healthcare and enhance public confidence in the service.

The exercise was instituted by a ministerial directive issued by the MOH to the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) under the Traditional Medicine Association Council ACT (TMAC ACT 575), which calls for regulation of the activities of traditional practitioners. "The licensing and registration exercise will enable the MOH to identify and address the changes that are militating against the general development of traditional medicine and quality service delivery in the country," Dr Kumbour said.

He inaugurated a nine-member panel to assess applications of practitioners for accreditation and tasked them to be fair and objective in carrying out their duties and to "have the safety of the public as the basis of all their decisions and actions." Mr Kobla Hlortsi-Akakpo, Registrar of TMPC, expressed the hope that the secretariat would be supported "to effectively implement the directives to achieve positive results."