Accra-Ghana, Nov 10, GNA – Professor Alex Asase, the Executive Director of the Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR), has touted the Centre’s achievements since its establishment 48 years ago.
He said the Centre had so far developed 37 herbal products for management of both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
“Work is in progress at improving the quality, repackaging and branding of these products for the ultimate satisfaction of our clients,” Prof Asase stated in his welcome remarks at the Second Oku Ampofo Memorial Conference in Accra.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Herbal Medicine Research-a Panacea for Economic Transformation.”
The conference is being organised in honour of Dr Oku Ampofo, the founder and first Director of the CPMR, a great medical practitioner, artist and pan-Africanist.
Prof Asase said the Centre, which initially started as a small outpatient clinic (known as Obikyere) managed by Dr Oku Ampofo, was now a fully-fledged agency under the Ministry of Health.
He said the Centre had worked over the past 48 years to employ the best scientific methods to modernise traditional medicine.
He said in addition to its laboratories, including an animal experiment unit, the Centre had an outpatient clinic, a production facility, and medicinal plant farms.
The Executive Director said the Centre had also started research into other important areas such as veterinary herbal medicine and herbal soaps and shampoos for skin care.
He said the Centre was also supporting the vaccine initiative of the Government of Ghana through vaccine potency testing and would lead in the search for plant vaccines.
“These are but a few of the many achievements and initiatives of the Centre that was started in 1975 by Dr Oku Ampofo,” he stated.
He said the prospects of herbal medicine in economic transformation could not be over-emphasised.
Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Presidential Advisor on Health, who was the guest speaker at the event, said many life-saving drugs and medicines were derived from natural products, especially plants.
He said exploring and researching these natural compounds could lead to the development of new pharmaceuticals, opening new markets and revenue streams.
Dr Nsiah-Asare said these drugs could address medical conditions, leading to improved public health and reduced healthcare costs.
Dr Holger Till, Head, GIZ Vaccine Ghana Project, in his presentation reiterated the need for Ghana to develop its own vaccines.
