TMPC as the De Facto Regulator of Alternative Medicine in Ghana

TMPC as the De Facto Regulator of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in Ghana

Although the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) is legally mandated to regulate traditional medicine in Ghana under Act 575, it has, in practice, served as the de facto regulator of alternative and complementary medicine since 2010.

This arrangement arose after the then Registrar of TMPC, Torgbuiga Yaka IV, attempted to register alternative and complementary medicine practitioners as traditional medicine practitioners under Act 575. This move was met with resistance from the alternative medicine community, led by Dr. Albert Arthur, who, along with others, petitioned the Minister of Health at the time.

As a result of these concerns, the Minister of Health sought a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Department on whether Act 575 provided a sufficient legal mandate to regulate alternative and complementary medicine. The Attorney General’s opinion concluded that Act 575 lacks the legal capacity to regulate such practitioners. Consequently, a new bill—the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Bill (2018)—was drafted to legally merge and recognize both traditional and alternative medicine under a unified regulatory framework. This bill, once passed, is expected to provide the much-needed legal recognition and regulatory clarity for alternative and complementary medicine in Ghana.

In the interim, and given the public health implications of unregulated alternative and complementary medicine practices, the Minister of Health issued a ministerial directive in 2010 instructing TMPC to extend its regulatory oversight to include alternative and complementary medicine. This directive was intended to serve until the passage of the new bill, which is still pending enactment as of today.

GAMPA’s Role in the TMPC Framework

To operationalize this directive, the TMPC Governing Board has, since 2010, consistently co-opted two members from the Ghana Alternative Medical Practitioners Association (GAMPA). These co-opted members serve as gatekeepers, responsible for:

• Facilitating the registration of alternative and complementary medicine practitioners and institutions, and
• Coordinating the activities and regulatory affairs of these practitioners within the Council.

Though not grounded in statute, this arrangement has effectively brought alternative medicine practice under the regulatory umbrella of TMPC, establishing a customary and practical model of regulation that continues to this day.

Understanding TMPC as a De Facto Regulator

When we say that TMPC is the de facto regulator of alternative and complementary medicine in Ghana, we mean that:

� TMPC acts as the main regulatory body for alternative medicine in practice, even though it is not explicitly mandated by law to regulate all aspects of it.

In more detail:

• “De facto” means “in fact” or “in practice” — something that exists or operates in reality, even if it is not formally or legally established for that specific role.
• TMPC is officially established to regulate traditional medicine, but in practice, it has also assumed the role of overseeing:
  • Naturopathy
  • Homeopathy
  • Acupuncture
  • Chiropractic
  • Nutrition and lifestyle-based therapies
  • Ayurveda
  • etc

Why this matters:

• There is currently no separate statutory framework or council solely responsible for regulating these alternative modalities.
• However, TMPC registers, licenses, and monitors practitioners and institutions within these domains through the cooperative arrangement with GAMPA.
• As a result, TMPC functions as the default regulatory authority for alternative medicine — not by law (de jure), but by necessity and ministerial directive (de facto).
• The sector currently awaits the enactment of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Bill, which will formally integrate and legitimize alternative and complementary medicine in Ghana’s health regulatory landscape.