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Virgin Blogger Blog of Friday, 7 February 2025
Source: Christopher A. Ranson
Since the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) intensified its routine monitoring exercises last year, it has encountered much resistance from some practitioners especially those in the Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) industry with the arguments that, the TMPC cannot regulate their practices because it is not captured in the Traditional Medicine Practice (TMP) Act 2000, (Act 575).
The World Health Organization (WHO), defines Traditional Medicine as “the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent, diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illnesses and is a range of therapy that fall beyond the scope of conventional medicine.”
The preamble to the TMP Act 2000, (Act 575) mandates the Council to in part, “register practitioners and license practices, to regulate the preparation and sale of herbal medicines and to provide for related matters.” Therefore, related matters are the CAM practices. The Council wishes to inform the general public, especially CAM practitioners that, Section 38 of the TMP Act 2000 (Act 575) states that “The Minister shall have ministerial responsibility for the Council and may give to the Board directives of a general nature on the policy to be followed by the Council in the performance of its functions,” where the minister referred to, is the Minister of Health.
Subsequently, the late former Minister of Health, Hon. Major Courage E.K Quarshigah (Rtd), issued a directive, “Policy and Administrative Guidelines on Complementary/Alternative Medicine Practice”, in November 2008, mandating the TMPC to regulate the CAM industry in addition to its original mandate of regulating Indigenous practices in Ghana.
The CAM practices under regulation include spas and, Gyms and Wellness Centers in Hotels, Nutritional Health Shops, Organic and Inorganic Health Shops, Beauty and Facial Centers that offer skin/facial treatments using herbal/organic/inorganic products, Massage Centers, Radionics Practitioners, Reflexology, and Aromatherapy etc.
In view of these provisions in the TMP Act 2000, (575) and the definition of Traditional Medicine by WHO, CAM practitioners in the Ghana cannot extricate themselves from been regulated by the TMPC therefore, any CAM practitioner who refuses to be regulated by the TMPC contravenes Section 39 of TMP Act 2000(Act 575) thus, the practitioner “commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or to both the fine and the imprisonment and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine of five penalty units for each day that the offence continues after written notice has been served on the offender by the Council and the Court may order temporary or permanent closure of the practice.”
Numo Blafo III,
Head, Corporate Affairs/Public Relations.
February 4, 2024
