Ho, Nov. 27, GNA - The Volta Regional branch of the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) has petitioned the government to form and inaugurate the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) without any further delay. An 11-point petition signed by Mr Jacob Kofi Domi, Regional Chairman of the Association and addressed to Major Courage Quashigah (RTD), Minister of Health, said the long absence of the Council was a clear infringement on the freedom and legal rights of members. It said Act 575 mandated the Traditional Medicine Practice Council to be the only authority to register traditional healers and called on the government to expedite action towards the formation of the Council to restore honour and dignity to the profession.

The petition said any temporal registration of Ghanaian traditional healers was unacceptable and should stop immediately because such registrations were meant for foreigners. It also urged the government to, as a matter of urgency, make it possible for traditional healers to be covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme.

The petition appealed to government to contract grants to revamp the sector by going into large scale herbal farming in all districts to make the sector self sufficient like their counterparts in China and India.

It said "all bottle-necks and unnecessary delays at the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine at Mampong and Food and Drugs Board for testing the potency of their products should be streamlined.'' The petition said advertisements of herbal medicines should be given a second look as some traditional medicines were truly potent. Earlier, Nana Kwadwo Obiri, National Organiser of GHAFTRAM, had urged all traditional healer groups in the country to come together to fight the cause of the profession.

Nana Kwadwo Obiri, who was addressing an end of year general meeting of the regional branch of the association, said traditional medicine was the best because its raw materials were fresh leaves and has fewer side effects as compared to orthodox medicine. Nana Kenneth Danso, President of the Association, appealed to members to practice environmental and personal hygiene to make the profession very attractive to their customers. He urged them to go out and establish clinics and herbal shops to market their medicines.