GHANA – The Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has intensified measures to guarantee the safety and efficiency of herbal products for public consumption.
The Authority has thus embarked on regional education, sensitization, and knowledge acquisition workshop for herbal medical practitioners in the three regions.
Madam Akua Amponsaa Owusu, the Director in charge of the Authority for the three regions said about 180 herbal medicine practitioners in the Bono Region would be imparted with requisite knowledge about the herbal medicine manufacturing industry to enhance the safety of their products.
This, she said, would guard against the influx of unregistered, fake herbal medicine products into the market to maintain a high-quality standard of the nation’s herbal industry.
Owusu stated the FDA’s periodic training to promote industry best practices would enhance the potency and efficacy of herbal medicine and proper treatment of ailments.
A move that could even help to reduce the government’s expenditure on drug importation for the money saved to fund equally other important developmental projects.
Earlier in a presentation, Mr Richard Kyeremeh Yeboah, a Senior Regulatory Officer of the FDA emphasized the training would also help to authenticate the herbal products for their rightful medicinal uses.
The training was first held for herbalists in the Ahafo Region and participants were taken through topics that included standard operative procedures, rightful measurements with the right measuring devices, and naming of the products.
According to FDA, correct labeling information required indication of active ingredients, name of the manufacturer, disease condition, dosage, storage condition, precautions, location address, telephone, and batch numbers indicated in a required language like English.
Such initiatives are of great importance given the current trends in the herbal medicines industry. According to insightSLICE, global herbal medicine market size was estimated to be US$ 83 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach US$ 550 billion by 2030 at a CAGR 18.9% through 2030.
A herb is basically a plant or plant part that is used in medicine, because of its scent, flavor, or its therapeutic properties. Herbal medicines are a type of dietary supplement. They make use of plants or plant parts, to treat disease and enhance general health and wellbeing.
The demand for herbal medicines amongst the people is anticipated to be a vital factor that will prove to be of great help in the growth of the market. The rising awareness surrounding the pros of natural remedies is expected to be another cause which can boost the global herbal medicine market in the next few years.
