Dr. Adu Gyamfi ,Chief Executive Officer of Medimafo Herbal Clinic , is alarmed at the heavy metal concentrates found in herbs sourced from mining areas.
Already, some herbs and plants used as medicine are going extinct due to deforestation, mainly caused by illegal miners.
Dr Time Daso, affectionately called,observed, growth in the herbal industry may slow down if the phenomenon persists.
“These are contaminants that are so toxic to the vital organs. The plants may be effective for consumption and medicinal purposes but due to the accumulation of these heavy metals like cyanide and mercury they will not be safe for consumption”, he said.
Dr. Adu Gyamfi addressing newsmen in his Kumasi-based office after a successful donation of car, mobile phones and TV sets to some patients as part of his birthday celebration last Monday further revealed that , “The rate of contamination is on the rise, if we don’t do anything about it now, we may be importing organic medicines free from contamination or we may be buying them at higher price”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about eighty percent of people in the developing world depend on traditional medicine to meet their primary healthcare needs, further projecting the global market for herbal products will be worth US$5 trillion by the year 2050.
In Ghana, it is estimated 951 tons of crude herbal medicines were sold at Ghana’s herbal markets in 2010, with a total value of around US$7.8 million.
From the statistics, the relevance of herbal medicine remains enormous but the surge in illegal mining has caused deforestation leading to decreasing raw materials for industry players.
As the country continues to lose forest cover to illegal mining, herbal medicine practitioners are being encouraged to consider the cultivation of medicinal plants.
Dr. Adu Gyamfi wants the government to step up fights to halt illegal mining.
“We need to get measures in place now else the future will not be bright for the nation”, he emphasized.
Because of the foregoing character, the herbal practitioner has set up a vast land in the Ofinso area in the Ashanti Region to plant trees to ensure good and quality herbal medicine in the Country.
He however gave out over 50 plasma TV sets , several Android mobile phones and a brand new Toyota Yaris to deserving patients who come to his herbal facility for health care.
