At a public forum on"Media and Herbal Medicine Advertising" in Accra yesterday, it came to light that advertisement was a major bait in influencing the public to patronise herbal medicines which may not have been approved and the media was the main vehicle in achieving that.
Of eight leading media houses in four regions across the country that were approached to promote a fake and non-existent herbal product , only two took due steps to ensure its authenticity. An official of the Traditional Medicines Practice Council under whose mandate traditional medicine practitioners are registered and their place of practice endorsed, was also implicated in the documentary for failing to ensure due process.
He said, about 80 per cent of Ghana's population now relied on herbal medicine to treat illnesses which was why all stakeholders in the value chain must collaborate to strengthen standardisation in the sector for public good.