‘Traditional Medicine Rules In Global Healthcare’

The West African Society
for Pharmacology, Societe Quest Africaine de Pharmacologie (WASP-SOAP), on yesterday said about 80 per cent of the world population relied on traditional medicine for its healthcare needs.
President of the society, Prof. Helen Kwanashie, made this known at the society’s 37th Annual Conference in Lagos, which has the theme,  ”Promoting Profitable Pharmacological Research In West Africa’’.
According to her,“the use of traditional medicine is something that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been grappling with since 1978. They called for the recognition of co-integration of traditional medicine with conventional medicine, for a more effective healthcare delivery.This is because they found that about 80 per cent of the world population, including Nigeria, uses traditional medicine to meet its healthcare needs.
Kwanashie described pharmacology as the study of the properties and actions of drugs, especially in relation to their therapeutic uses or side effects.
She said that there were challenges regarding the integration of both types of medical practices but added that “there are many challenges regarding this recognition and integration.
Also, a professor of Pharmacology at North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa, Dr Douglas Oliver, said that major transitions were rapidly reshaping Africa.
According to him, in spite of the accelerated growth in economies and technologies, major uncertainties are still being faced, especially in drug development, medicines, quality healthcare delivery and healthcare science and research development.
Oliver said that there was an urgent need to bring these under control and advance the education of people.
He said that WHO had emphasised six areas for a successful health system, namely healthcare services delivery, health work form, health information system, access to essential medicine, health systems financing and leadership and governance.
“Research will have greater impact when locally relevant and regionally contextualised, with country specific data and practices were included in the analysis,’’ Oliver said.
The conference chair, Dr Theresa John, said it had become imperative for a smooth blend of the study of nature and science.
According to her, the future will be brighter with a more profitable research in West Africa, and Nigeria, leading to improved products and services, sustainable entrepreneurship and alleviation of most societal problems.