The Chairman of Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB) Prof. Adebukola Adefule-Ositelu, has said that the recognition accorded indigenous methods of healing by the present administration has further aided the use of traditional medicine among residents of the State.
Speaking during an interview session in her office in Onikan, the Chairman stated that the Agency has also been making frantic efforts to sanitise the practice and regularise the operations of the practitioners.
She noted that the intervention of the agency in the areas of training and certification had assisted in making the use of indigenous medicine safe, while also eradicating quackery.
Adefule-Ositelu commended the State Government for the upward review of annual budgetary allocation to the Board in the Year 2021 budget, saying that the gesture attests to the positive disposition of the present administration and the belief of Governor Sanwo-Olu in promoting indigenous medicine.
The Chairman also harped on synergy and collaboration between the orthodox medicine practitioners and their indigenous counterpart for a holistic healing process, stressing that the health seekers should enjoy the freedom of choosing their preferred method of healthcare delivery between orthodox and indigenous healing methods.
Underscoring the potency of traditional medicine in healing mild, moderate and severe health issues, including life-threatening diseases, Adefule-Ositelu declared that the indigenous method of treatment is not inferior to the modern-day method of healthcare delivery.
The Professor of Ophthalmology maintained that indigenous medicine practitioners need their orthodox counterparts in the area of investigation of medical condition in order to ascertain the nature of ailments and to administer the right treatment.
“There is no competition here, the aim of both methods of treatment is to treat patients and get them better by running a parallel system where result is the ultimate”, the LSTMB Chairman reassured.
Professor Adefule-Ositelu declared that 80% of medications used in the orthodox field are derived from natural products, used for syrups and tablets, disclosing that plans are underway to replicate modern traditional clinics, laboratories and standard offices across the five divisions of the State for monitoring the activities of traditional practitioners, including those operating in the hinterlands.
The replication of the traditional clinics and laboratories across the State, she said, will help to empower indigenous healers for clinical trials on variant medicinal solutions, document results and also record the efficacy and side effects of plants and herbs.
