Total War between herbal medicine and medical doctors rages

Total War between herbal medicine and medical doctors rages Medical doctors in Nigeria have risen up fully against herbal medicines and want them band while herbal medical practitioners accuses them of envy. Okechukwu Jombo They call them all sorts of name depending on the ethnic inclination of either the seller or the user Some call them Agbo,Gbaraga,Ogwu igbo etc what ever you call them Herbal drugs has been with us in Nigeria and is even getting more visible Watching the woman as she carried the basin full of herbal medicine on her head one will not but feel pity for her but on second thought as she announces the efficacy of her wares you will lose that sympathy. This is the story of the herbal medicine dealers and the society which they operate. You cannot but notice them every were in most major cities of Nigeria. They exit pari parsu with western medical health care givers. Every of them have there clientele and keep to them but all that is about to change as the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council NMDC is challenging the right of the herbal medicine dealers to exit along side their members While herbal medicine practitioners are of the view that Nigeria and other African countries should take advantage of the huge revenue earning potential in herbal medicine, and stem the continuous tide of loss of funds arising from this complacency towards the development of herbal medicine on the continent. Even as the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is asking media houses to exercise caution when advertising herbal products. Africa Regional Coordinator and CEO, Revelation International Magazine, Mr Paul Bassey, observed that Africa must realise that the use of herbs which forms the larger medicinal substance of the conventional drugs, is key to the continent’s health revolution in 20:2020. The NAFDAC DG,Dr.Paul Orhii said he is not conderming herbal drugs outrightly but according to him“Traditional medical practitioners need to be recognised by government and be given the rightful place in the provision of primary healthcare”. He explained that worldwide, herbal medicine has come to the front burner due to its capacity to generate huge revenue. Data from the World Health Organisation shows that annual revenues in Western Europe totaled US$ 5 billion in 2003-2004, in China, sales of herbal products totaled US$ 14 billion in 2005, while herbal medicine revenue in Brazil was US$ 160 million in 2007. Describing herbs as one of the many wonders of nature, Bassey noted that contrary to widespread belief that use of herbs for medicinal purposes is evil, herbs and plants are one of nature’s healing and curative measures. “Traditional or herbal medicine is the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences that are indigenous to different cultures and that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent, diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illnesses.” But not a few observers believe that NAFDAC have failed abysmally in controlling or regulating the conduct of herbal practitioners particularly in advertising of herbal products. While many believe that the term ‘NAFDAC Approval’ being bandied by most hawkers of herbal products is misleading and not seen as an endorsement of such products most of them are often advertised as drugs that cure all ailments; a situation that requires critical intervention by NAFDAC. Media organizations in Nigeria are in dire need of revenue often generated through advertisement and most herbal practitioners are aware of this and are seriously exploiting it. But the quest for revenue analysts say should not replace the need to ensure that these products are not exposed without regulation and adherence to certain codes of ethics which NAFDAC should dictate and enforce including guidelines which media houses must follow before accepting and exposing any advertisements on herbal products As the argument rages Pharmacist under the aegis of the Association of community Pharmacist of Nigeria said they are against herbal drugs and abuse of it in the country as according to them there are no dose and people just keep taking it until it damages their organs and to stem the tide in Nigeria, they urged the Federal Government to step in and regulate its use. They also called on government to work out modalities for easy drug access, while warning Nigerians against consuming herbal drugs arbitrarily. Lagos ACPN Chairman, Aminu Abdulsalam Yinka said if not checked urgently, drug abuse and misuse may plunge Nigeria into disaster. He berated the level illegal drug sales, misuse and abuse in the country. He advised Nigerians against consumption of herbal drugs as he noted that research on their side effects have not been documented, even though the practice may still have its place in the country. On his part, former Lagos ACPN Chairman, Anthony Ani, said the rising incidence of kidney and liver failures could be traced to drug abuse and misuse among Nigerians. Urging Nigerians to desist from purchasing drugs from hawkers, the pharmacist said Nigerians should patronize only appropriately registered pharmacy shops to avoid a situation where “we use our money to buy death.” Herbal medicine, both native and Chinese, is undergoing something of a renaissance in Nigeria - there are several companies who have expanded in the past few years and are starting to acquire NAFDAC licensing for their products. However a lot of people have raised eyebrow about them insisting that all that glitters is not gold that while some are asking for caution many say they should be out rightly banned According to Dr. Okpo Ojah an expect on herbal medicine in a paper he delivered recently titled The need to standardize herbal medicinal practice for sustainable development in Nigeria he arguedThat one is proud to see that with the gradual revival or renaissance of Nigerian culture in general, traditional medicine has assumed its rightful place of importance in the Nigerian environment. Given such a dynamic resurgence, the country’s traditional medicine according to him has effortlessly been competing with imported western medicine which was well received and left behind as the colonial heritage within the context of the western civilization which Nigeria and other African countries also inherited from colonial masters. Thus both in the rural and urbanizing communities of the country, the practice of medicine is now a comfortable mixture of both the alternative (traditional medicine) and the orthodox systems. This situation he explained is imposed by the majority of the clientele who realize the benefits of the two systems. This cultural ambivalence of the people he said is capable of enhancing smooth integration of the two aspects of medical practice. It is against this backdrop that he welcomes welcomes the move by the House of Representatives to ensure the passage of the bill on herbal medical practice in Nigeria. Such a measure he said bound to eliminate the various criticisms often leveled against the practice of traditional medicine such as general secrecy, dirty environment, absence of gainful motives, motion or association with the spirit of the ancestors in the comsogomic sense, the use of rites and rituals and ceremonies in the treatment processes, the over-dosage as well as illiteracy associated with most of the traditional healers. Such a measure will also facilitate open and healthy competition between the orthodox and alternative medicine practitioners as well as encourage the exportation of traditional medical products abroad for foreign exchange earnings as against the current overseas medical trips by many Nigerians where fifty billion Naira has been spent over the years. It is therefore up to the traditional medicine men to accept the challenges of the standardization measures being put in place by NAFDAC and the members of the House of Representatives. Other relevant agencies connected with this project should co-operate with the National Assembly in order to enhance the auto-centric growth and development in traditional medicine in Nigeria as witnessed in China, India and other countries in Asia in synergic medicinal practice.