93% Nigerians depend on traditional medicine to survive 

The Director General of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Prof. Martins Omeje, has said that for Nigeria to achieve universal health coverage, traditional medicine remains the panacea.

He stated scientists must continue to develop and need no one outside of Africa to validate it, noting that the era of boundaries is gone, but collaboration is important.

Omeje was speaking at the herbal medicine conference tagged “Traditional and Herbal Medicine: Challenges and the Prospects for Translational Research,” organised by Chrisland University, Abeokuta.

He disclosed that primary health care services in Nigeria are mere architectural structures, adding that there is a need for the government to relate with traditional medicine for more robust contributions to the country’s health care delivery.

He stated that it is erroneous to use any foreign parameters to regulate traditional medicine or scientists’ work, noting that regulation is not a challenge to traditional medicine, but the challenge is traditional medicine itself.

On the possibility of both traditional and orthodox medicine working together, Prof. Omeje noted that the body prefers co-existing rather than integration.

He affirmed that the difference between Nigeria and Asian countries is the documentation, and this has given the country an edge above others.

According to him, more than 93% of Nigerians depend on traditional medicine to survive.

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Also speaking at the event, Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Prof. Augustine Onyeaghala, noted that the importance of traditional and herbal medicine cannot be overstated.

He stated that medical and natural therapies have continued to play a vital role in the healthcare system across Africa.

He explained that the demand for solutions to public health challenges keeps increasing, hence the need to bridge traditional healing practices with evidence-based medical science.

“The theme of this conference reflects our shared commitment to advancing the integration of traditional medicine with modern science.

“It also underscores the need for robust research, regulation, and translation of herbal medicines and indigenous knowledge into therapeutic solutions that can meet global health challenges,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Chinedum Babalola, submitted that the healthcare system is plagued with the issue of access to quality-assured medicines, which are essential to health.

She added that it is imperative to address strategies for improving access to efficacious and quality-assured herbal medicines.

She expressed confidence that at the end of the conference, “we would have developed a policy document that would hasten the translation of herbal remedies into our healthcare.”

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