Quality Control and Standards of Medicinal Products: A Committed Agenda
Razak Mohammed Gyasi *
Department of Geography and Rural Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Charlotte Monica Mensah
Department of Geography and Rural Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Joseph Yaw Yeboah
Department of Geography and Rural Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Lawrencia Pokuah Siaw
Department of Geography and Rural Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The use of medicinal products of various categories is burgeoning geometrically in the global landscape over the past few decades. Although Africa and Asia culturally remain the home for complementary and alternative medicines (CAM), the north with the most sophisticated allopathic medical system is making headway in CAM use. Whilst herbal medicine is generally considered "safe" because it is natural and neutral, copious evidence suggests that herbal medicine could be lethal if not used rationally. Education and training of practitioners, scientific validation, legislative regulation of herbal medicine use and open patient-practitioner communication remain the crux of the safety, quality and standardisation of medicinal products.
Keywords: Africa, allopathic medicine, herbal pharmaceuticals, indigenous knowledge, medical geography, medicinal products, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals