Traditional and natural medicines remain a veritable tool to the country’s health and overall economic prosperity. The Director- General of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Dr Samuel Etatuvie, made this known in Abuja, during the Natural Medicines Day.
Dr Etatuvie stated that given the right tools, environment, policies and technology, Nigeria’s hugely untapped bio-resources – flora and fauna – can boost the health sector and provide much-needed prevention and treatment panaceas for a sundry of diseases bedevilling the citizens.
He further stressed that the traditional medicine sector, asides providing health benefits, is a strategic sector for providing employment for the citizens, especially the youth, through the stimulation of small and medium scale agro-businesses, small scale product industries in health/raw materials and a feedstock to the global knowledge economy in research and product development.
“Traditional medicine is one of the best things to happen to mankind. Even though it has been given different names, it remains one of the pillars of health and economic growth. Science and innovation will assist us in developing this economy. Nigeria has the potential in terms of traditional medicine and vast resources. The government has shown a lot of interest in developing this sector.
“We are here to highlight the potentials of natural medicine; – our indigenous (traditional) healthcare systems medication and non-medication healing arts, Sciences and Technology. To re-emphasise its medical benefits and utility to our people, and the economic prospects that if properly harnessed, explored and exploited could hugely improve our economy and provide employment to our teeming youths.
“With my many years as a researcher and administrator in this sector, it is my privileged conviction that natural medicine knowledge with its associated bio-resources, is a strategic sector for the overall development of the country, starting from the natural improvement of our health, stimulation of small and medium scale agro-business, small scale product industries in health/raw materials and a feedstock to the global knowledge economy in research and product development.
“The resources of natural medicine are of particular interest due the fact that at each point, their value chains constitute a major feedstock to economic activities to different society groups. It is our culture, it is our heritage and a hope for a healthier and wealthier future.
The Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency has spent the last 15 years identifying the challenges impeding the development of this critical sector and tried to find solutions. These include; the human actors in the sector, the specific challenges posed by near absence of documentation of practice outcomes and bio-resources, the issues of secrecy and fear of loss of intellectual property and benefit sharing, the needed clinical research data to validate traditional medicine knowledge products and the technology necessary to transform these resources into innovative and commercialisable products with wide acceptance by clinicians and the public.”
He added: “When people say there is no dosage or proper education for traditional medicines, I wonder. I believe education cannot be limited to what is within the four walls of a school.
“Our challenge is our impetus to work harder to make our sector do well. We have done a lot in product development, documentation, and training. We have trained over 70,000 traditional practitioners across the country. If you know their worth, political and economic leaders will be coming to consult with you. We must find a way to put our house in order. Government will listen to you if you put your house in order.”
In his remarks, the Chief Host of the occasion, Hon. Pharm. Victor Terah-patrick, lamented the loss of traditional knowledge and skills due to lack of proper attention to the sector. “It has been well-established globally that Nigeria is well-endowed with traditional medicine knowledge and skills. We should innovate, explore and convert the resources we have. We have traditional technologies in healthcare that have been abandoned. Millions of knowledge have been buried.
“It has been done in places like India, China, Malaysia, etc. We can do it here in Nigeria also. Also, we have the best land and conditions to achieve more. However, we must work as a team to see how we can put Nigeria on the map of traditional medicine globally.
“The Board of this agency will pursue the government plan to partner with relevant stakeholders in the sector in order to achieve our mandate and contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the Nigerian people,” he said.
The Royal Father of the Day, His Royal Highness, Pharm. Luka Panya Baba, added: “It is a known fact that a lot is being done by so many institutions and traditional medicine practitioners associations on the development of natural medicines.
“It is also known that we are blessed with bio-resources, both flora and fauna that we can use to develop our natural medicines. This government has continued to emphasise on the aspect of science and technology to effectively exploit these resources that we are blessed with in the country.
“We need to do some more aggressive discussions among institutions like the NIPRD and other institutions and associations of traditional medicine practitioners to synergise our ideas and have a compendium that will be applicable to all our healthcare delivery points. We have the technology and trained personnel to take drug development from where it is today to a higher level. The good thing about developing our own products is that we will be able to guarantee their quality.”