We are part of UK Registered charity ‘Homeopathy in Africa’, and our purpose is promoting Homeopathy in Ghana.
Our work is divided into ‘Education’, ‘Recognition’, and ‘Practice’.
Education
Our main work is in education and clinical programmes. We have been working since 2005 when the project formed, to help develop homeopathy in Ghana. There are quite a few homeopaths already practicing there and a Ghana Homeopathy Association. However, there have not been any formal introductory and advanced training programmes, which are needed to bring new people to the profession. Therefore, we have been offering many types of educational programmes over the years.
We have recently completed a four-year programme for producing 21 graduates. We now want to explore offering more introductory programmes throughout the country, with information on how homeopathy can be used in simple, acute and first-aid situations. We also want to explore more online training methods and to design a post-graduate course for medical professionals.
Recognition
Therefore, we are working to make homeopathy an integral part of the healthcare system in Ghana and work with appropriate governmental bodies in regulating the profession. A government body already exists, The Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC), which registers professional practitioners from different forms of Traditional and Alternative Medicine and we are working to support the registration of classical homeopaths with this council.
Practice
The success of our work will be seen in homeopaths being able to make a living practicing homeopathy and for the people of Ghana to have access to good quality homeopathy. Practicing homeopathy is not necessarily an easy thing to do, wherever you are in the world, and in Ghana certain unique challenges can be found, as they are in other African countries. These include the following:
- The recognition of homeopathic medicine in the country. Many people still don’t know what it is and therefore education is important within the public domain.
- Access to homeopathic medicines and books. Having a reliable source of homeopathic medicines is important and the project aims to be able to support the development of a homeopathic pharmacy in Ghana in the future. In the meantime, we are planning to import more remedies from the UK and India to ensure that the stocks of our medicines are up to date.
- The financial challenges in Ghana make maintaining a private practice in Ghana somewhat challenging. Therefore, the project has supported some clinics over the years and our aim is to continue to support certain clinics to ensure their success and ability to offer homeopathic services.
- Graduates of our programmes can need support in developing clinical practice skills and to transition into their own practice. By affiliating them to certain clinics in various parts of the country, these graduates can continue to receive support while they develop their practice.
