The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on Saturday in Abuja said the Federal Government would facilitate the wide scale adoption of traditional and alternative medicine in orthodox medical practise.
He said this at the maiden conference of the Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
He said, “Traditional medicine is all that we had before the emergence of modern medicine. And the same applies to all cultures and civilizations. The continued interest and research into traditional medicine is the right way to go for further development of these ancient herbs in Nigeria.
“The time has come to use the knowledge and skills of the forefathers passed down through the generations for greater value addition. In line with the aspiration of this administration to explore all avenues for proper healthcare, the Federal Ministry of Health will remain committed to supporting initiatives that promote TCAM in Nigeria.
“It is instructive that a high percentage of Nigerians still seek and use traditional medicine in addition to orthodox medicine. It is my hope that this conference would deliberate on opportunities that are hidden in traditional medicine to be adopted in our orthodox practise”
The PUNCH reports that, in December 2020, Dr. Ehanire inaugurated a 20-Member Committee chaired the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Abdullahi, to fine-tune modalities for the establishment of the National Institute of Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria to be supervised by the University of Benin.
Apart from the Committee chairman, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Health, other members of the Committee include Professors MacDonald Idu and Ehijie Enato who represent the University of Benin on the Committee; Representative of Federal Ministry of Education; Representative of the National Universities Commission; Professor Ernest Ugo; General (Dr) Ali Muhammad-Biu; Professor Lawal Bichi; Dr. Chigozie Nwogu; and Professor Alphonsus Ekwerike, amongst others.
In attendance were the First Lady, Dr Aisha Buhari, the keynote speaker, Prof MacDonald Idu, Head of TCAM at the Ministry of Health, Zainab Shariff, representatives of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Ooni of Ife, Minister of State for Health, Adeleke Mamora, various traditional medicine practitioners from across the country.
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