The Managing Director of Capital 02 Natural Health Company Limited, Rev Benedict Otoo, has underscored the need for government to step up its efforts to integrate herbal medicine as component of healthcare delivery in the country.

He said although we have some facilities prescribing herbal medicines, there were still challenges hindering the integration.

He told Kwabena Agyapong on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that there were some herbal units in some hospitals but ‘’as in getting these products on is another challenge for the government.’’

He explained to the host it takes a period of time to know the side effects of herbal medicines but when it comes to living bitters, it has span the period of two decades getting to three decades, and so when we talk of a safe herbal product that is also reliable, with no noted side effects, you can talk of living bitters.’’

He stressed on the need for government to step up efforts to integrate herbal medicines into the healthcare delivery system in Ghana.

He quickly added that because the herbal practitioners face competition from the pharmaceutical companies; sometimes much as they appreciate herbal medicines, it is also a threat to their business. I believe that there are some kind of politics going on but I think Ghanaians know the best, they know what they want. I know that government is doing their best, trying to take the products to the hospitals.’’

He also raised the challenge over standards and quality saying, ‘’there are some of the medicines you are too sure would be effective and when you are unable to determine these factors, it becomes difficult to prescribe such products.

Some of the herbal companies he lamented were not prepared to go by the standards in the production and manufacturing of their herbal medicines.

He said Capital 02 has survived due its adherence to standard practice in the industry.

The use of herbal medicine he added has grown over the decade in both Ghana and abroad hence the need for government to support the industry.

He raised concerns over regulatory requirements on product shelf life (A product’s “shelf life” generally means the length of time you can expect to stay safe for use. This length of time varies, depending on the type of product, how it is used, and how it is stored.) as required by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).

This process he complained ”is expensive” and has admonished government to support the industry.

A company needs roughly GHc15, 000 to go through the processes of shelf life for a single product, he said.