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Deputy Minister for Health, Prof. Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has called for greater integration of scientifically validated traditional medicine into Ghana’s mainstream healthcare system.
Prof. Ayensu-Danquah made the call on Thursday, September 24, 2026, when she visited the COA Research and Manufacturing Limited Company at Wusorkrom in the Central Region.
The visit provided an opportunity for the Deputy Minister to engage the management and staff of COA and tour the company’s facilities, including its manufacturing operations, with particular attention to quality assurance and compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices.
According to Prof. Ayensu-Danquah, traditional medicine, when properly researched, scientifically validated, regulated and manufactured according to approved standards, has the potential to make a significant contribution to healthcare delivery in Ghana.
She noted that Ghana could draw lessons from countries such as China, where traditional and conventional medicine are used alongside each other to complement healthcare delivery.
She stressed that closer collaboration between the traditional and conventional health sectors would be important in improving healthcare outcomes while ensuring that medicines used by the public meet the necessary standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
The Deputy Minister further linked the discussion to the government’s Free Primary Healthcare programme, saying the programme’s emphasis on preventive and promotive healthcare creates an opportunity to examine how scientifically validated traditional medicine could contribute to primary healthcare delivery.
She identified conditions such as hypertension and diabetes as areas where traditional medicine could potentially contribute, while emphasising that such applications must be subjected to scientific validation and appropriate regulatory oversight.
The Chief Executive Officer of COA Research and Manufacturing Limited Company, Prof. (HC) Samuel Ato Duncan, welcomed the government’s efforts to develop and standardise Ghana’s traditional medicine sector.
Prof. Duncan said such efforts could enable traditional medicine to complement national healthcare programmes, including the Free Primary Healthcare initiative.
He disclosed that COA is undertaking research into the potential health benefits of some of its products, including research relating to cancer and viral diseases.
According to Prof. Duncan, sustained research, innovation and collaboration between traditional medicine practitioners, researchers and government institutions would be critical to unlocking the full potential of traditional medicine.
He maintained that stronger collaboration could help build the scientific evidence base for traditional medicines and enable the sector to contribute more meaningfully to healthcare delivery in Ghana.
The Deputy Minister, accompanied by the Acting Director of Traditional and Alternative Medicines Directorate of the Ministry, Mr. Frank Raji and other officials were then introduced to the various products of the company, the manufacturing processes and the various research and publications relative to COA products.
Prof. Ayensu-Danquah assured stakeholders that the Ministry of Health would continue working with relevant institutions and industry players to strengthen research, quality assurance, manufacturing and regulation within the traditional medicine sector.
She said the broader objective was to develop a healthcare system in which traditional and conventional medicine could complement each other safely and effectively, guided by scientific evidence and appropriate regulatory standards.
The visit therefore brought renewed attention to the role of research, scientific validation, manufacturing standards and government-industry collaboration in positioning Ghana’s traditional medicine sector for a more significant role in national healthcare delivery.
For COA Research and Manufacturing Limited Company, the engagement also underscored the company’s stated focus on research into plant and natural medicines and the development of plant-based medicinal products.
By D. Deladem Kisseih
