Public Relations Officer of the Traditional Medicines Practice Council at the Ministry of Health, Numo Blafo III, has disclosed that the Council issues out license to practitioners of locally manufactured medicines.

According to him, although the licensing is carried out before these medicines hit the counters for public consumption, he cannot confirm that all of the drugs seen on the streets have actually been licensed by his outfit.

“The FDA normally gives approval for those on the counter. That is when you go to herbal shops, those that are labelled on the counters for sale, those the FDA normally approves before it comes out. We give the license to the practitioners. They have their products, they take it to Mampong, that is the Center for Plant and Medicine Research. From there when it is approved, they then go to the FDA because of their shelf life and all that. The FDA approves before they come out.”
Numo Blafo III

Numo Blafo III stated that the Council has had challenges in ridding the streets of unlicensed medicines. He however noted that the Council last two years, engaged the transport unions to ensure they do not allow unlicensed medicine dealers to sell to commuters. This, he explained, is because such medicines pose threats to the consuming public, especially when they have not been licensed and approved.

“So, we met with some of the union to inform them that those who come on the buses to come and sell, there are certain things they should demand from them, especially a license from the Traditional Medicine Practice Council, that allows them to operate that business… I will say that it is difficult to get all of them. There are people who actually come out once a week and in fact in areas on our blindside. So, these are difficulties we have.”
Numo Blafo III

Approval of local medicine by FDA

The PRO of the Traditional Medicines Practice Council emphasized the need for manufactured products to be approved by the FDA. He highlighted that in its raw state, especially when its unprocessed plants or tree barks, it requires a different form of approval first before it gets to the Food and Drug Authority.

“So, normally we always warn the public that when you are patronizing such products, you need to see the person’s license or certificate in operating that business… If it is raw materials the person is selling, before we even license that person, he has to be recommended by people in their village and where they are operating from with the assumption that those who know him or her, have endorsed and we don’t have much problem…”
Numo Blafo III

Earlier this year, the Food and Drugs Authority in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional police arrested an unlicensed herbal medicine practitioner for selling unregistered herbal products. Regional Head of the FDA, John Laryea Odai-Tettey, stated that the FDA will go after persons who pose threats to the health of the public.

He explained that herbal medicine could be detrimental to the health of the public if they were not properly certified for human consumption.