•Collaboration with orthodox medicine practitioners underway
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has urged traditional medicine practitioners to register their herbal products “in accordance with its drugs and related products” registration guidelins or face the music.
Its Director-General (DG), Dr Paul Orhii, said regulation is pertinent to ensuring that only quality, safe and effective herbal medicines are available to consumers.
Orhii spoke at this year’s African Traditional Medicine Day (ATMD), with the theme: “Collaboration between traditional medicine practitioners and conventional medicine practitioners”.
Orhii said adequate regulation would aid the integration of complementary and alternative medicine into the country’s health care system. “Besides, the agency is in constant discussion with stakeholders to ensure compliance,” he stated.
He further said: “Unpatriotic Nigerians who continue to engage in illegal advertisement of their products and those making false claims not evaluated by NAFDAC should desist from acts misleading the unsuspecting public. I want to warn and inform them that NAFDAC would deal decisively with anyone found to contravene.”
The DG, represented by the agency’s Director of Laboratory Services, Mrs Stella Denloye, said there are established standards and guidelines for regulating herbal medicine products, which is being implemented by the agency in collaboration with stakeholders.
According to him, a National Committee has been established to advise the agency on herbal medicinal products.
Moreover, the World Health Organisation new strategy on Traditional Medicine (TM) focused on three sectors: “To build the knowledge base around traditional medicine and Complementary medicine (TM and CM) through appropriate national policies. The role and potential of TM and CM cannot be over-emphasised. There is the need to strengthen the knowledge base, build evidence and sustain resources.
“Also, it is to strengthen quality assurance, safety assurance, proper use and effectiveness of TM and CM by regulating these products, practice and practitioners. Globally, there is increased focus on regulation. TM practitioners need to appreciate the role and importance of regulation.
“It is also to promote the universal health coverage by integrating TM and CM services, appropriately. Self health-care is fast becoming a way of life. It is, therefore, necessary for consumers of TM and CM to be empowered to make informed choices about self healthcare, especially for those that self-medicate with herbal medicine products.
He said Expert Committee on Verification of claims by herbal practitioners has been established, adding that eight products have so far been approved for verification exercise.
He said: “About 80 per cent of the population in developing countries and Africa use traditional medicine (TM) for their primary health care (PHC) needs.
“Despite this high patronage, TM is often stigmatised by the practitioners of modern or conventional medicine so much so that in some countries it is even illegal to practise it. However, with the global resurgence of interest in TM and increasing need for expanded health care, there is the need to institutionised TM in the health systems across the world including Nigeria.”
The agency, he said, has banned illegal advertisement of herbal products and bogus claims of cure for diseases.
Director, Drug Evaluation and Research (DER) Directorate, Mrs Titilope Owolabi said the theme draws attention to the urgent need for the cooperation between traditional medicine practitioners and conventional medicine practitioners to enhance better and reliable healthcare delivery.
She said before orthodox medicine came people relied totally on TM for all healthcare needs.
This, she said, includes the use of herbal, animal and mineral based materials often laced with spiritual ingredients, such as incantations.
Mrs Owolabi encouraged people to embrace TM and offer ways to make it viable.
She said there is the need to strengthen collaboration between the practitioners to prevent infectious disease and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) because of rising disease burden.
The director enjoined stakeholders to collaborate on controlling diseases.
“This collaboration needs to be coordinated to ensure safety, standardisation and broader efficacy in healthcare. To support this initiative, the government has established a committee known as Expert Committee for Verification of Claims of Herbal Medicines which was given a mandate to verify claims made by TM practitioners. The committee is made up of representatives from the academia, NAFDAC, TM associations, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRID) and the Media,” she stated.
