The Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Barbados under the brand name ‘Export Barbados’ and the University of West Indies to export Ghana’s plant medicine to the country.
Export Barbados will also ensure that Ghanaian herbal medicines reach the Caribbeans.
The Centre for Plant Medicine Research is already involved in a ‘Twin Medicinal Plant Garden’.
Under this partnership, the Centre will cultivate in Ghana medicinal plants that are already thriving in Barbados and preserve same for the country so that in the event that the plants face threats in Barbados, Ghana would be in a pole position to assist them recover them.
The Financial Attache of the Barbados High Commission, Rosalind Luke-Harrison, signed on behalf of Barbados while Dean of Faculty of Medical Sciences, Damian Cohall, PhD, signed on behalf of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill of Barbados.
The MoU was signed as part of the 2nd Oku Ampofo Memorial Conference in Accra to celebrate the remarkable achievement by the Centre for Plant Medicine Research and the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM).
The conference, which brings together practitioners from across the sub-region, will discuss the health benefits of plant medicine and what Africans stand to derive from their usage, marketing and export of same.
Presidential Advisor on Health Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, who was the Keynote Speaker at the event, said government is ready to partner herbal institutions to develop the sector with appropriate policies since it is a source of huge revenue mobilisation.
“It is more imperative for Ghana to develop the sector now that Ghana is in the process of becoming a vaccine and other serum manufacturing hub in the sub-region for vaccine sufficiency.
“The passage of the Narcotics Control Commission Amendment Bill into law, allowing the cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal use is very apt,” he stressed.
Executive Director at the Centre for Plant Medicine Research Prof. Alex Asase said the Centre will lead the search for Plant vaccines and other research.
“In the vaccine manufacturing activities, one key thing we need to undertake is vaccine potency testing and one way to do this is to use animals which the Centre already can boast of the best animals in Ghana to do this. So we will be involved in the potency testing in the domestic manufacturing of vaccines.”
The conference was under the theme: ‘Herbal Medicine Research; a panacea for economic transformation’.
By Richard Bright Addo|3news.com|Ghana