My name is Babara Morie S Turay. I am the Manager in charge of the Traditional Medicine Programme under the Ministry of Health. I am also the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS).

 

Babara M.S. Turay Manager of Traditional Medicine

I worked as a laboratory assistant at the Albert Academy Secondary School from 1970-1991. I was also an ‘A’ and ‘O’ Level biology teacher at the Prince of Wales School in Kingtom from 1977 to 1979.

From 1977 to 1979 also, I was a part time demonstrator in botany in the Department of Botany, Fourah Bay College. In 1979, I became a lecturer and curator of the National Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, Njala University College, Sierra Leone.

I obtained my first degree from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, where I majored in Botany. I got a BSc Honors from the University of Sierra Leone in 1977. I later obtained my Msc from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom in 1981.

Since 1981 to date, I have been a private practitioner in traditional medicine at the Turay Traditional Healing center, Calaba Town.

In 1982, I did my in-service training at the International Institute for Tropic Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria. The training was based on Modern Weed Control and Technology.  From 1982 to 1988, I was a part time scientist in weed research, adaptive crop research and extension projects, Njala University College.

In 1988, I underwent training at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in Plant Tissue Culture. This training was sponsored by African Bio-Science Network. In 1989, I went to the University College London for a Monitoring and Evaluation Training. This was sponsored by the British Council.

In 1993, I was a lecturer of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, COMAHS, University of Sierra Leone.

Since 2000 to date, I have been the focal point for traditional and generic medicine in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.