PROBLEMS TO STANDARDIZATION AND MARKETING OF TRADITIONAL HERBAL MEDICINE IN THE BUlLS A NORTH DISTRICT

Traditional medicine has been in practice in Ghana for several decades and the patronage is high. Several people use it and believe in it. However, traditional medicine in the Builsa North District is not standardized; hence, the research was to investigate the problems to standardization, and marketing of traditional herbal medicine in the Builsa North District in the upper east region of Ghana. Focus was on the discovery of the raw materials for the medicine, the processing and preparation of the medicine, packaging, branding and marketing of the products. During the investigation, it was established that most of the herbalists were uneducated and practiced just as they inherited from their parents. There is also so much of divinity attached to the practice as practitioners would always have to consult their gods by way of pouring libation and or animal sacrifice before treating patients. Herbalists in the district are not well organized to have a common way of preparing and packaging of their herbs or access credit to boost the practice. Due to this, they cannot expand the business and pick it as a full time job with maximum concentration. The main aim of the research was to find out attitude of people towards herbal medicine, the plight of the practitioners, and subsequently propose measures for standardizing herbal medicine in the health delivery system in the district. Interviews and observation were the basic methods used to gather data about the practice. Findings revealed that the practitioner wish they could standardize to open up their market. A factor deterring many people from patronizing the products is the divinity or belief system attached. However, when education is done in the community and meaning of traditional herbal medicine explained, people would develop a new mind towards the practice. To make a head way, practitioners would have to form a solid union, register, and share ideas as to how to expand the business.