The first lady, Aisha Buhari, has appealed to members of the National Assembly to ensure quick passage of the Bill for the establishment of a council to regulate the activities of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM).
Mrs Buhari made the call on Saturday at the 1st annual Conference of TCAM 2022 with the theme: Indigenous Medicinal Plants, Health Benefits and Economic Potentials.
The two-day conference was organised by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with the office of the first lady with the aim of accelerating mechanisms towards integrating the traditional medicines to complement conventional medicines in Nigeria.
She emphasised the need for the practitioners to have legal backing in their quest to providing alternative medicine in the country.
“We want prompt passage of the Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) Council Bill before the National Assembly to regulate their products and practice as required by law,” she appealed.
The first lady however said out of 10,000 species of medicinal plants in Nigeria, only 20 per cent of it was utilised.
“ These valuable bio-resources often referred to as `Green Gold` can be harnessed for the production of medicines, cosmetics and other related products for the benefit of our people,” she said.
She therefore urged relevant authorities to support the course.
The first lady expressed optimism that the gradual integration of TCAM into the healthcare delivery system will ensure progress of Nigeria’s health sector towards achieving universal health coverage.
She also promised to acquire a piece of land for women for the development and production of medicinal plants to ensure promotion of health, social and economic benefits, especially in the areas of job creation.
Mrs Buhari informed the gathering that the conference was in line with the federal government’s agenda of boosting revenue generation from the non-oil sector.
She expressed optimism that the conference would provide the needed impetus towards creating wealth and job opportunities for teaming women and youth of Nigeria.
In his welcome address, the Minister of State for Health, Sen. Adeleke Mamora, said the conference was aimed at promoting and utilising the production of traditional medicinal plants to boost health and economic wellbeing of Nigerians.
Mamora also said the ministry is making efforts to acquire land for the cultivation of medicinal plants to boost the production of traditional herbs in commercial quantity to increase revenue generation.
Also speaking, the Chairperson, Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, who spoke on behalf of her colleagues, expressed commitment to support TCAM in their various states.