Health
PROF. Martins Emeje, Director-General, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), has expressed displeasure over Nigeria’s over-dependence on importation of drugs and other healthcare products.Emeje expressed his displeasure at a Community Engagement for Health and Economic Growth of Nigeria held on Saturday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, Anambra.The engagement organised in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, was tagged “Importance of Integrating Indigenous Medicine with Orthodox Health Practices for Community Health and Economic Development”.Emeje said that no fewer than 160 million Nigerians could not afford the imported drugs, describing the situation as painful and shameful.According to him, Nigeria is insecure in terms of medicine.“Nigeria and Africa have been over-dependent on importation of healthcare products, including drugs.That is why we decided to develop our own indigenous and natural medicine, so we can produce our drugs locally.“We are naturally endowed with diverse plants, animal and other untapped bio-resources that we can convert to our own medicine.“Over 40 per cent of drugs in the pharmaceutical space globally are from plant origin, not to talk of animals, minerals and soil.“For every disease, the solution is within the environment. There is no disease in Nigeria that the panacea is not here,” he said.The Director-General said the people of old who depended on cultural practices and traditional medicines lived for over 100 years.Emeje said the was the need to recognise the herbal and traditional medical practitioners with wealth of knowledge and experience on how to tackle all manner of diseases in our society.
“Today, life expectancy is less than 60 years because we have thrown away our culture and heritage and are busy exporting and exploiting our own cultural bio-diversity and depending on imported pharmaceuticals
“The predictions of increase in mortality rate in Nigeria and Africa during COVID-19 did not come true because of our abundant bio-diversity especially of plant origin.
“Nature has endowed us with combination therapy which we must harness,” he said.
Emeje said that the agency had plans to establish research farms in all the 774 Local Governments Areas in the country as well as herbal clinics in all states.
He said that the research farms would be meant for integrated cultivation, medical production, functional foods among others.
According to him, the research farm at Kano State is 90 per cent completed, while that of Plateau and Cross River States just commenced.
“This engagement is part of a research project involving five countries of China, India, United Kingdom, Uganda and Nigeria.
“ These countries are collaborating to find solutions to the problem of anti-microbial using herbal medicine of Nigeria origin.
“My Agency is leading Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Obafemi Awolowo University with Prof. Charles Esimone and Prof Ibrahim Bello as part of Nigeria’s team to develop this medicine,” he said.
Also speaking, Prof. Charles Esimone, Vice Chancellor, NAU, said the engagement was targeted at harvesting indigenous knowledge of medical plants for affordable, sustainable and acceptable healthcare.
Esimone said he was optimistic that the engagement would close me up with a position paper to ensure healthcare needs and resources are identified and harnessed.
He said that as a proud pharmacist, he was passionate about, solving healthcare problems using the country’s indigenous knowledge.
He said:“Nigeria is a big country to overlook, especially in the area of healthcare provision and we have comparative advantage in terms of natural medicine.
“We also have very rich, but untapped bio-diversity. Regrettably, our traditional healers with enormous endowment are going to their graves with those endowment.
“Universities are supposed to provide policy direction based on empirical researches they have done.
“NAU has track record in terms of research in pharmaceuticals with corresponding strong pharmaceutical faculty and extensive collaboration nationally and internationally.
In his remarks, Mr Louis Madubuattah, Anambra state Coordinator, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, promised that the agency would support the project.
He said that NAFDAC would support the project in addressing challenge of clinical trials and products certification for marketing.
He also called for visibility and collaboration on the part of herbal medicine practitioners, as well as the need to sought for grants and investors towards battling the challenge of anti-microbial resistance.
On his part, Chief Hyacinth Ezeugo, Chairman, Anambra State Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association, canvassed for traditional medicine hospital in each state of the federation.
“We are the professors who are going to hand over to the next generation. But we have been struggling to succeed and praying for a time traditional medicine will be recognised.
“But I think that time has come and we can nott afford to miss this opportunity,” he added.(NAN)
25th February, 2024.
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Tags: NNMDA Prof. Martins Emeje
