The Minister for Health, Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has challenged Ghana’s Traditional and Alternative Medicine (TAM) sector to position itself as a major contributor to national economic growth, urging practitioners to pursue international collaborations and modernisation.
Speaking at a high-level stakeholder meeting with the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC), associations of practitioners, and Ministry officials, the Minister said traditional medicine was not only an important health alternative for millions of Ghanaians, but also a strategic tool for job creation, wellness tourism, and Ghana’s 24-hour economy.
“Your sector can grow the economy. Other countries are doing well on the backdrop of herbal medicines. We signed an MoU with India recently, so you can follow up to see how they can help your members,” Mr. Akandoh said.
He emphasised the need for Ghana’s practitioners to draw lessons from jurisdictions like China and India, where herbal medicine has been industrialised and globally marketed, and urged the sector to adopt modern technologies and expertise to expand its impact.
Mr. Samuel Ato Duncan, Chair of the TMPC Governing Council and President of the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Associations (GHAFTRAM), said the sector had already proven itself as a contributor to health delivery, job creation, rural development, and export earnings.
He said traditional medicine could position Ghana as a hub for integrated health and wellness tourism in West Africa, provided practitioners commit to quality assurance, biodiversity protection, and evidence-based therapies.
Mr. Duncan also announced plans to launch an annual Traditional Medicine Research Symposium in partnership with leading universities, aimed at validating indigenous therapies for both local and international markets. In addition, a nationwide registration audit will soon begin to update practitioner databases and weed out unqualified operators.
The TMPC is also strengthening ties with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) on herbal medicine quality control and with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to enforce production standards.
Stakeholders at the meeting — including herbalists, naturopaths, traditional birth attendants, and other allied groups — agreed that with the right investment, regulation, and partnerships, Ghana’s traditional medicine sector could become a pillar of both healthcare and the economy.
