The Federal Ministry of Health says it is currently working towards reviewing Nigeria’s Herbal Pharmacopoeia and the Traditional Medicine Policy.
It also said Nigeria has about 8,000 medicinal plants yet to be utilised.
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Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Adeleke Mamora, stated this on Monday during a news briefing organised by the ministry to mark this year’s African Traditional Medicine Day.
He said the ministry is also working in collaboration with international organisations and relevant Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure discovery of effective remedies against COVID-19 and other diseases from the rich and extensive flora of the country.
The minister said that Nigeria could not achieve its quest for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) without giving traditional, complementary and alternative medicine its pride of place in the country.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Alhaji Mahmoud Mamman, said about 8,000 medicinal plants are yet to be utilised in the area of research, development and value addition.
Mamman, who was represented by the Head of the Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) Department of the ministry, Zainab Ujudud Shariff, said it was estimated that about 80% of Nigerians living in rural communities use traditional medicine.
Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Nigeria Country Representative, said the listing of 14 herbal medicinal products against coronavirus by NAFDAC and ongoing clinical trials on them were in line with the Regional Expert Committee on COVID-19 aim of elevating the standards of clinical trials of traditional medicine for the virus.
He said WHO Nigeria was providing support to the health ministry in the review of the Traditional Medicines Policy 2007 and Nigeria Pharmacopoeia 2008 and the development of a five-year strategic plan to implement the new policy and the revised pharmacopoeia.
