When individuals are sick, they go to hospitals for treatment in line with med­ical care and practices acceptable to our national and international standards so that they will always remain healthy.

Good health depends on preven­tive steps that are taken to over­come diseases. However, in case the inevitable happens, and we fall sick, we will need to go for medica­tion, whether orthodox or herbal, to deal with the problems we are facing.

Orthodox medicine has ad­vanced over the years, but in spite of this, it is unable to solve all problems. For this reason, many other people believe that we need to pay attention to herbal medicine to overcome our health problems.

While this is true, we need to be very careful so as not to go for the wrong herbal medication in a man­ner that can jeopardise our health condition.

Both orthodox medicine and herbal medicinal care can prove dangerous if not properly adminis­tered to the sick.

The advantage of orthodox medicine is that it goes by certain scientific principles that ensure that diagnosis and tests are carried out properly before a prescription is made. Herbal medication has also seen tremendous improvement over the years, and doctors also carry out certain tests before pre­scriptions are made. In times past, proper tests were not carried out before the administration of herbal medication.

This problem has been over­come. The Kwame Nkrumah Uni­versity of Science and Technology trains people in herbal medicine and encourages them to go by ac­cepted principles of diagnosis and procedures, tests, and ultimately, medication.

As a result of this, we have seen tremendous improvement in herbal medication. There are still, howev­er, problems with herbal medica­tion.

The rapid nature with which many of these herbal practitioners go on television to advertise their herbal products leaves much to be desired. In the case of orthodox medicine practice, the Medical and Dental Council comes out to readily engage the practice.

We do not see the same regu­latory behaviour when it comes to herbal medication. Herbal medica­tion is complementary to orthodox medicine.

In fact, herbal medication is rooted in African tradition, which is why many Ghanaians or Africans believe in it.

It is good to show interest in herbal medicine since it plays a useful role in Ghanaian society. In addition to orthodox medicine, the Chinese, Japanese, and some peo­ple in other parts of the world have advanced this form of practice to improve their healthcare systems.

Thus, if Ghanaians are also doing the same, then it is in order and must be encouraged. However, people must go out for only the herbal medicines that have been approved by the Food and Drugs Authority and are also seen not to be marketed for profit motives. If all people can be seen to be careful in this way, there will be checks and balances in the medications we take so that our health can be cared for and protected as expect­ed.