NHIS Should Cover Traditional Medicine Cost

by Caroline Berg (Projects Abroad)

If 70 percent of Ghana’s population seeks traditional herbal remedies to cure its ailments, then why is traditional medicine not covered in the National Health Insurance Scheme?

“We are appealing to the medical personnel at the local hospitals to include traditional medicine in their services,” the Queen mother of Mankessim, Nana Amageduah I, said during a presentation at the Odo Pee Herbal Research and Learning Center on Saturday. 

Over a dozen recovered stroke patients and a seven-man band came out to the research center to support and raise awareness of Ghana’s traditional medicine. The event also functioned as an appeal to the government to include traditional medicine in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme. 

“[Orthodox] doctors know about traditional medicine, but they think it is inferior to their medicine,” said Bishop Okanto Davies, National Projects Coordinator for Health Education Malaria Programme at Mankessim.

Nevertheless, interest in Ghana’s traditional medicine is growing steadily and people arrived from all over the country on Saturday to witness the healing power of the Odo Pee center’s alternative medicines.

Mr. John Kofi Sackey, CEO of the Odo Pee Herbal Research and Learning Center, led the presentation and invited each patient up to demonstrate his or her health. One woman ambled around the lawn with a cane, but then soon discarded the walking aid to march proudly on her own, which was met with great applause. 

“We want to make stroke hope for all those who are having stroke to be healed over here,” Mr. Kofi Sackey said, referring to the Odo Pee center.

Although the center has achieved great success in healing stroke victims of all ages, Mr. Kofi Sackey is calling on the government to come to the center’s aid. To better serve its clientele, the center needs more space, more beds and access to modern machines for futher research into plant medicine and also for drug testing.

According to Mr. Kofi Sackey’s PR Officer, Mr. Samuel Sackey, the government had not responded to the center’s initial pleas for help.

“So, we took it upon ourselves that we will research herbal medicine,” Mr. Samuel Sackey said. 

After taking Odo Pee’s medicine to a scientific research center for standardization, it was approved for sale in the markets. Finally, Odo Pee’s products were certified by the government and will soon be used in hospitals alongside conventional drugs.

In general, proponents of traditional medicine are frustrated by the government’s lackadaisical response to the sector’s pleas for assistance. In Ghana, the ratio of traditional medicine practitioner to patient is 1:400, whereas the ratio of conventional doctor to patient is 1:20,000. 

One study conducted in the Sekyere South District of Ashanti revealed how patients must walk over 25 kilometers to access the nearest conventional health center. One subject voiced concern over the demands of such a trip, which could aggravate one’s illness and result in an unnecessary death. Subsequently, most people who live in Ghana’s rural regions seek traditional medicine practitioners in their own communities.

Besides proximity issues, the study found at least 60 percent of Ghanaians also seek traditional medicine either because it is cheaper or they simply believe it to be more effective.

“I’ve witnessed so many traditional herbal clinics and I’ve seen that most of the herbs that are given in treatment to people sick with something serious like stroke, it is better that they use the traditional medicine,” Bishop Davies said.

Not only may traditional drug usage be more beneficial to the individual, but promoting and utilizing Ghana’s own rich stock of natural resources for medicinal purposes could also save the country millions of dollars on imported drugs. 

Moreover, annual global demand for traditional medicine is increasing exponentially and Ghana stands to benefit greatly in this sector. As is evident through China’s traditional medicine exports, which totaled in at 1.46 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, natural medicines are in high demand. 

Nevertheless, Ghana’s traditional medicine industry must tackle several significant issues before it may expect full government support and approval. The first key step for the industry is to organize a database of the country’s legitimate traditional medicine practitioners.

“We’re going to see that the policemen, who helped the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners, see that all the quack practitioners are out of the system,” Mr. Kofi Sackey said.

Starting in February, Ghana’s National Coordinating and Monitoring Evaluation Offices will begin weeding out charlatan medicine vendors, which is not a simple task. According to Mr. Sackey, some drug vendors who sell their products from the trunks of their cars, although they may appear suspicious, are actually safe sources for traditional medicine.

The proposed registration will help facilitate the important integration of traditional and conventional medicine practices in the nation’s health delivery system to complement each other through cross referral of cases to produce a more effective overall health delivery service.

Registration will require practitioners to provide their personal data, educational backgrounds and professional experience. In addition, practitioners are advised to document their research and practices to prove the quality and safety of their products and services. 

Where conventional medicine excels, Ghana’s traditional medicine lags far behind. The traditional sector has yet to develop cogent methodologies to prove product efficacy and ensure product quality. It must also standardize manufacturing practices, consistently test for product safety and conduct post-marketing surveys to pinpoint any adverse results. 

Those present at the Odo Pee center, however, appear prepared to see this arduous battle is through.

“When you go to China or other African countries, they use traditional medicines,” Bishop Davies said.  “But, here in Ghana, we don’t use the traditional medicines because we feel that this is taboo.  But, it’s not like that.”