Lilongwe, May 18, Mana: Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) Director General (DG), Daud Suleman has called for proper messaging on use of Traditional and Complementary Medicines (TCM) by various broadcasters to avoid misleading people.

He was speaking on Thursday at the opening of a day long joint orientation meeting on Advertisement and Promotion of TCM products, held  in Lilongwe.

Suleman observed that broadcasting services remain an integral part of the lives of many Malawians and it was proper for the various Radio and Television stations to ensure that their messaging is accurate and factual.

“Many people who are listening to the radios may not have another source of information to make reference to what they have heard and therefore they treat radio as a single source of truth.

“And that creates a problematic situation if what is provided on the radio is not true, therefore we need to make sure that we provide accurate information about TCM services and goods, so that when they are being consumed by the listener they must not pose a threat to their lives” he said.

He called on the broadcasters to subscribe to the code of ethics they have signed and the rules of engagement as stipulated in their licenses.

Member of allied substances committee of the Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority (PMRA), Dr. John Mponda said PMRA engaged the media and the traditional healers to alert Malawians on TCM usage.

“We want to protect Malawians from using products which are not able to do what they are being advertised for” he said.

He said as a regulator, PMRA is putting out guidelines that dealers need to follow, warning those who don’t will be prosecuted accordingly.

The meeting was attended by representatives of various broadcasters from the central region as well as traditional healers, among others.

Mana/sbn/scm