ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE CENTRE
Our clinic is run by professional nurse Ankomah Louis who, alongside his conventional nursing qualification, holds a certificate in alternative medicine and is a permaculturalist. His passion for health-care and local solutions to development are the driving force of the medical centre.
Since the pilot project began in 2018, over 2000 people have been screened, diagnosed and given medications and three communities have been educated on health promoting lifestyles.
The clinic offers a range of services including
Health screenings
(a service that is offered for free for people over the age of 60)
Vital signs checking
Diagnosis
Herbal medicine
Massage
Home visits
(for people who are unable to make it in to the clinic)
Outreach health talks in schools and communities
(educating people about hygiene, preventative measures and symptoms)
The clinic has several rooms where patients can stay over-night if necessary. As the project grows, we are looking to expand the clinic to accommodate more patients and extend our services.
WHY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE?
Local solutions in healthcare and other areas of community development are often more effective and sustainable than less accessible, external solutions.
Herbal medicine is significantly cheaper and more readily available to local people in rural Ghanaian communities.
Natural medicines rarely have negative side-effects on health.
The clinic also places emphasis on health-conscious practices and choices such as diet, exercise and massage.
By coming back to natural and herbal medicine, the clinic draws on traditional knowledge. We are working to promote dialogue between GPI and traditional healers, as well as to combine traditional medicine with scientific evaluation.
GPI are conducting research into indigenous Ghanaian based herbal medicines and remedies which began in October 2018. Selected products from GPI's clinic are being subject to laboratory testing in authorised institutions such as the Centre for Alternative Medicinal Herbal Medicine, in co-operation with the Institute of Plant Analysis.
Many of the herbs we use are grown at our site and are completely organic, lacking in harmful chemicals that are damaging to health.