GhanaTraditional Medicine & Healthcare in Ghana
Lisa Briggs
Global Health – 2007
Ghana Area
92,098 square miles Population
22,113,000 Language
English is the official language (79 others)
Religion 62% Christian, 22% Indigenous
Beliefs, 16% Muslim Literacy
Male: 76%; Female: 54% Life Expectancy
57 years Agriculture
Coca, rice, coffee, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas, timber, cassava
Healthcare Delivery Ghana is divided into 10
regions, each with it’s own hospital
Accessibility to healthcare is defined as living within 3-5 miles of a health service 70% of the population lives in a
rural area where accessibility is a problem
In Ghana the ratio of medical doctors to population is 1: 20,000
The ratio of traditional healers to population is 1: 200
2006 International Council of Nurses
What is Traditional Medicine? Traditional medicine refers
to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal, and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illness or maintain well-being.
Defined by the World Health Organization
Types of Practitioners in Ghana Traditional pharmacists
Use herbal medicines Plant & drug peddlers
Travel to towns/villages to sell herbal medicines
Priest & priestess of deities and gods They cure spiritually based
disease through divination & rituals in healing practices
Sacred/traditional healers Faith healers, use prayer,
fasting, herbal medicines
Health Beliefs Mind body connection Environment consists of two worlds
Physical world which is seen Supernatural/spiritual world which is unseen
Patient Safety Issues Posed by the World Health Organization W.H.O. launched a
comprehensive traditional medicine strategy in 2002 Develop national policies
on evaluation & regulation Create stronger evidence
base on the safety, efficacy, and quality
Ensure availability and affordability of TM and herbal medicines
Promote therapeutically sound use of TM by providers & consumers
Document TM remedies
Biodiversity & Sustainability Growing herbal
market and it’s commercial benefit might pose a threat to biodiversity through the over harvesting of raw materials for herbal medicines
World Health Organization 2007
Africa First, LLC
Global Summit on HIV/AIDS, Traditional Medicine & Indigenous Knowledge in Accra, Ghana(March 2008)
Vision of Africa First Traditional medicine farm
in Tepa, Ghana J.William Danquah,
President/CEO of Africa First
http://www.africa-first.com
Africa First – Tepa Medicinal Farm
Develop a sustainable production system that is environmentally friendly, profitable, and benefits society.
Improve the quality of life for the families that reside within the community where the project is located.
Create a model farm to train farmers about organic production of medicinal plants and sustainable forest management.
Use the activities developed in the eco-farm and its natural resources for biodiversity and environmental education.
Africa First, LLC 2007
Kakum National Park Largest rainforest in
the central region Ghana, 360km
Reserve established in the 17th century
Canopy walkway 350 meters of
suspended bridge, 30 meters above the rainforest floor
Kakum National Park Hagar
Park ranger/Guide Kuntan/Ebony Trail
Developed for medicinal & practical uses of forest plant species
Nature’s Pharmacy guinea worm, hemorrhoids,
anemia, asthma, labor induction, expulsion of placenta, HIV/AIDS, ringworms, diarrhea, rashes, epilepsy, stomach & head aches, chest pains, high blood pressure, yellow fever, measles, painful menstruation, ulcers
Ghana: Favorite Pictures
Ghana: Favorite Pictures