NAFDAC seeks support for herbal medicine devt

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called for more support and funding for herbal medicine.

This is contained in a statement from the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in Abuja.

The statement said the Director-General made the call at an inaugural symposium and launch of the African Center of Excellence for Drug Research, Herbal Medicine Development and Regulatory Science (ACEDHARS) at the University of Lagos.

Its theme is “Development of medicines from African medicinal plants: opportunities, challenges and regulatory approach”.

Adeyeye said supporting funding for herbal medicine research and development would help fulfil the desire for universal health coverage for all.

Adeyeye said investment in herbal medicine research and development would have a positive impact on the economy of the pharmaceutical industry and traditional medicine.

According to her, herbal medicines are very important for the provision of health services and can contribute significantly to universal health coverage in the country.

“Despite widespread use, traditional medicines have yet to be integrated into the national health system of many developing countries, including Nigeria.

“The increasing use of herbal medicine despite a general lack of research on some of these products is cause for concern.

“Investment in herbal medicine research and development is needed from all stakeholders, including the government so that we can benefit from what God has freely given us,” he said.

Adeyeye said that ACEDHARS is very important to Nigeria because of the focus on developing herbal medicine for use by the people.

The Director-General said that the centre would work to ensure that proper research and clinical trials on herbal products were carried out before they were used.

According to her, some herbal medicines reach the market without adequate research and clinical trials to confirm their safety and efficacy.

Adeyeye advised herbal medicine practitioners to take advantage of the centre to increase their knowledge in practice, saying that herbal medicine practitioners should have continuing education, even where they had it before.

She said that the centre would be of great benefit to those without practical knowledge, which would also broaden their horizon.

He also called on those without the knowledge to adopt the program in order to acquire the basic education requirements to practice.

The statement also quoted Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, as saying that there is a need to harness the indigenous knowledge of herbal practitioners. Ogundipe was represented at the event by Prof. Obinna Chukwu, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Management Services.

Ogundipe described the symposium as timely to examine the challenges, opportunities and regulatory approach to drug development from African medicinal plants.

“We must appreciate the fact that the medicinal herbs that we have are quite effective and there is a need for us to take advantage of indigenous knowledge.

“Some medicinal herbs are quite useful in treating a number of ailments, but the problem is that some of these medicines have been seen as a cure for all ailments which the Yoruba call ‘gbogbo nise’.

”It is necessary to address the issue of quality control, proper identification of medicinal plants, standardization of active ingredients and chemical compounds in herbal medicine.

“We also look forward to a period when modern technology is applied in herbal medicine research,” he said.

Also in a speech, Omobolanle Ade-Ademilua, Director/Leader of the Centre, said that ACEDHARS, which was a World Bank approved centre of excellence, was established to train skilled manpower.

Ade-Ademilua said the training includes quality assurance, dose standardization, reproducibility of herbal preparations, and drug safety monitoring in the West and Central Africa region.