Lagos SSG Charges Traditional Medicine Practitioners On Proper Documentation, Dosage

The Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs. Folasade Jaji, has enjoined traditional medicine practitioners in the State to ensure better documentation and dosage of their medicines, just like their orthodox counterparts. 

Mrs. Jaji made this known in her remarks at the opening session of a training programme organised for traditional medicine exhibitors and advertisers by the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB), Onikan, cautioning the practitioners against abuse and arbitrary use of indigenous medications. 

She noted that the producers of indigenous medications for the treatment of ailments like Malaria, Cold, Cough, Diabetes and High Blood Pressure among others should come up with specific dosages or measurements for usage as well as the proper documentation of the healing processes for posterity.

 In her words: “The emphasis here is that more effort should be put into proper documentation and measurement of each medication just like the orthodox medical practitioners. Specific dosage and prescriptions given by orthodox doctors for different ailments should be embraced by traditional practitioners. It is my belief that if our local herbs are properly packaged, they can be exported to other countries and serve as a source of additional income for the nation”. 

She maintained that formal education on the part of the 21st century traditional medicine practitioners should further add value to the practice and increase the relevance as well as the potency of traditional medicine. Jaji observed that most Nigerians and Africans, in general, turned to traditional remedies during the peak COVID-19 pandemic period, which underscored the level of awareness about the potency of indigenous medicine among the populace.

 The SSG, however, called for continuous awareness on the effectiveness of traditional herbs as well as training and re-training of practitioners. This, she said, is the only way Nigeria can begin to compare itself with countries like China and India who take pride in their roots and herbs. 

The Chairman, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB), Prof. Adebukunola Adefule-Ositelu, solicited for better collaboration between traditional medicine practitioners and their orthodox counterparts, stressing that both practitioners are working for the wellbeing of the citizens. 

Adefule-Ositelu called for more research works from traditional medicine researchers as a way of further promoting and manufacturing medicinal products that are cost-effective, less invasive and of a high standard for export purposes. She advocated for an end to the limiting colonial mentality that condemns and sees all-natural medicine practitioners as fetish and inferior to those of non-pigmented skinned people of the western world. 

Speaking on the essence of the training organised for the herbal exhibitors and advertisers, the Chairman disclosed that the Board identified continuous training as one of the ways to restore professionalism to traditional medicine, adding that it is extremely important to impart the practitioners with requisite knowledge on how to handle health issues brought to them. 

The Board Chairman also used the occasion, which coincides with the 40 years of establishment of the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board, to seek for improved synergy with all stakeholders, saying that traditional medicine deserves better recognition than its present state.