Such a practice, he said rather compounds their problems since most of the preparation have no scientific proof of healing.
Prof. Akosa said this during the launch of the 2006 World Sight Day in Accra on Wednesday under the theme: "Promoting the social inclusion of the visually impaired".
Prof. Akosa referred to statistics at the Akropong School for the Blind which indicate that 25 per cent of all students with low vision (partially blind) at a point in time used herbal medicine for their eyes.
He reiterated the concern of the GHS about the country’s reliance on donations by foreign individuals and organizations of medical equipment and drugs, some of which are obsolete and useful.
Prof. Akosa said the time has come for Ghanaians to show the way by making the efforts to meet these medical needs.
"We must remember that charity always begins at home and so Ghanaian individuals, organizations and even our professional bodies must take the initiative so that the donors will only have to support such initiatives."
The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Gladys Norley Ashietey, who launched the programme, noted that there was no such thing as a disabled person but that the attitudes of the public have made people with physical impairment appear disabled.
"We have all contributed to putting barriers in their way and so the physically and mentally challenged now see themselves as being disabled", she complained.
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