Despite the widespread use and inherent benefits of traditional herbal medicine in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has lamented that the development of herbal medicines that are not only affordable but effective and safe for public use still pose a great challenge.
The Director General, NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye speaking at a symposium on Thursday to mark the 2019 African Traditional Medcine (ATM) noted that there is a wide acceptance of traditional herbal medicine but said it’s development and regulation has been hampered by an array of factors including the question of safety.
According to Adeyeye, the lack of clinical trial of existing herbal medicines, poor documentation, lack of standardization and validation of methods and practices, lack of scientific proof of claims, inadequate number of standards for raw materials, lacing of herbal preparations with orthodox medicines, inadequate level of research and low output of researched herbal medicines amongst others makes it difficult to develop and ascertain if they are safe for public consumption.
The NAFDAC DG said this has caused the sector to develop at a snail pace despite the high percentage of Nigerians particularly in remote, rural and peri-urban areas who depend on herbal medicines for their primary healthcare needs and main source of livelihood.
She stated that 80 per cent of African populations now use some form of traditional herbal medicine, and the worldwide annual market for the products is approaching $60 billion.
She therefore stressed that the NAFDAC will be strict in the regulation and control of herbal products to facilitate its development and contribution to the national healthcare delivery system in Nigeria.
To further ensure safety and quality of herbal medicine, the DG said NAFDAC has inaugurated a scientific committee to deliberate and report on additional analytical tests that could be conducted in addition to others highlighted under Laboratory Analysis above.
She added that the Agency is in the process of renewing a Memorandum of Understanding with National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) for research collaboration on herbal medicines.
“These activities and collaborations will greatly facilitate translation of the low hanging fruit of our biodiversity into palatable public health commodities. Evidently, NAFDAC is totally committed to ensuring that only safe traditional herbal medicinal products of good quality are available to the general public”, she said.
The permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Mashi Abdullahi, in his remarks said government has recognised the importance herbal traditional medcine in the country as an alternative source for medical care
He said the establishment of the department of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the ministry of health to steer the affairs related to traditional medicine is one of such recognition.
GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU, Abuja
