About 40 African countries have developed national traditional medicine policies, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
It said this was made possible with the implementation of its Regional Strategies on Promoting and Enhancing the Role of Traditional Medicine in Health Systems.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Region, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said this in a message to the 2022 African Traditional Medicine Day.
Moeti said that the year’s theme was “Two Decades of African Traditional Medicine Day: Progress Towards Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Africa”.
She said that member-states have used the day to catalyze discussion forums around national policies on traditional medicine, cultivation of medicinal plants.
The day is also used to train traditional health practitioners and their collaboration with their conventional counterparts.
“These activities prompted more than 40 African Region countries to develop national traditional medicine policies by 2022, up from only eight in 2000.
“Thirty countries had also integrated traditional medicine into their national policies, a 100 per cent improvement on the situation in 2000.
“Additionally, 39 countries had established regulatory frameworks for traditional medicine practitioners, compared to only one in 2000, demonstrating good governance and leadership,’’ she said.
Moeti said as of today, 34 research institutes in 26 countries were dedicated to traditional medicine research and development.
