The federal government has urged the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the TCAM bill, which will provide the necessary framework for the further development of the sector.

The government has also stressed that the time has come to bring the medical knowledge and skills of the country’s ancestors to the forefront for greater added value, in line with its aspiration to explore all avenues of universal health coverage.

Minister of Health Dr Osagie Ehanire during a two-day inaugural Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) conference organized by the Ministry of Health and the office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, revealed that plans are underway to integrate Traditional, Alternative and Complementary Medicine (TCAM) into the primary health care system in the country.

According to Ehanire, “There need not be a controversy between orthodox medicine and traditional medicine. It is instructive to note that a very high percentage of Nigerians seek out and use traditional medicine, either as a preference or as a complement to orthodox medicine. This reinforces the reasons for giving the art of traditional healing a place in our health care system.

“The Federal Ministry of Health will consider how to formally integrate traditional, alternative and complementary medicine into our primary health care system. Before this is done, however, it is important that the practice is property regulated to ensure that the health benefits accrue to our people.

Earlier, Minister of State, Senator for Health Adeleke Mamora said that Nigeria is endowed with over 10,000 species of medicinal plants, good arable land, good climatic conditions to harness the potential of these plants for health, social, economic and national development goals.

Mamora further stated that the main objective of the conference is to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants as a potential source of raw materials for the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries.

He said it was about creating a short, medium and long term value chain and attracting agricultural business loans and manufacturing loans from the Bank of Industry (BOI) to boost economic development. from the country.

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“It was also important to note that Nigeria and other African countries currently benefit minimally from the global herbal medicine market estimated at $7 trillion by 2050; and is currently dominated by China, India, the United States, Germany and Thailand.

“Significantly, the cultivation of medicinal plants and the commercialization of medicinal plants will bring enormous economic benefits to Nigeria, especially in the following areas: increased foreign exchange earnings and wealth creation, alleviation of poverty through creation of employment opportunities in the fields of cultivation and conservation of medicinal plants in Nigeria.

“Assuredly, the FMoH is committed to developing and promoting Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria and is currently taking these pragmatic steps as follows;

“Launched awareness programs and activities to promote the cultivation, marketing and utilization of indigenous medicinal plants in Nigeria; Facilitated the passage of the TCAM Council Bill into law, to effectively coordinate and regulate the practice of TCAM in the country.

“Proposed a state-of-the-art TCAM hospital in Nigeria. Inaugurated a committee of experts who are currently working on the modalities for launching the TCAM Institute for the training of TCAM practitioners in Nigeria.

The First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, in her remarks, called on all stakeholders, especially the Federal Government, to intensify the use of her traditional medicines, especially in health care and economic development.

She noted that while alternative health care like acupuncture and Ayurveda have been imported and accepted in the country, the potential of traditional medicine remains underutilized at less than 20%.

“This conference is in line with this administration’s agenda to boost non-oil exports, which will lead to commercial cultivation and medicinal plants for health, economic and social benefits. It will provide health and jobs for our many young people and women.

Furthermore, one of the herbal medicine producers and stakeholders, Dr. Uzu Onyemaechi Robert, who is the Managing Director of Ruzu Holistic Healthcare Limited, said that the traditional herbal medicine sector needs government intervention in terms of grants and loans.

Robert said there was no loss in investment in the herbal solutions industry as he called on the government to budget for the sustainability of the sector.

“If there was a budget of five hundred million to one billion naira, jobs would be created and hard currency would come into the government purse because herb production is a value chain that would be labor intensive work, from the supply of raw materials to marketing”.

Professor MacDonald Idu, Professor of Phytomedicine at the University of Benin, who delivered the keynote address at the conference, said if properly harnessed, the value of traditional herbal medicines in Nigeria would reach N1 trillion. by 2025.

He put the current value at a conservative estimate of N200 billion, lamenting that little attention had been paid to exploiting the sector.

“We talked about 200 billion dollars. It’s conservative. I’m serious. Other forms of literature, which I have also read, will reach about 1 trillion by 2025. I know what that means. That’s a lot of money,” he said.

“Nigeria, I’m sorry, we don’t follow the chops. We talk a lot, but we don’t follow the chops. So my point of interest is to get the hearts of our people to realize that we need to diversify our economy.

“We have no reason to be poor. This is the real truth. We have no reason to bring back everything we need to survive. It’s already there.

We will punish Tinubu for insulting Buhari ― Adamu, APC National President

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