Join Forces With FG To Tackle COVID-19 — Trado-medicine Practitioners Urged
Practitioners of traditional medicine in Lagos have been called upon to unite so as to enhance and optimise their potentials.
Making the call, the Chairman, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board, Prof. Adebukola Oshintelu, who spoke on a live phone-in programme, tagged “Issues in the News”, emphasised the need for traditional medicine practitioners to form a common front like the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, so as to command deserved respect and recognition.
“We need to find a way of becoming one formidable body that will be able to reorganise traditional medicine while being able to get support and recognition in society”, she said.
Oshintelu said efforts were being made by the Board to find a cure to the Coronavirus disease, and that traditional medicine practitioners are discussing possible solutions, samples of which have been sent to relevant bodies for testing and thorough examination before being ratified for human consumption.
She maintained that Nigeria is endowed with lots of medicinal plants to combat the pandemic, stressing that “what we need is to focus on these plants to boost our immunity and reduce inflammation”.
While applauding the Central Bank’s pledge to back researchers financially, the Chairman opined that the initiative would go a long way in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, just as she solicited for collaboration between orthodox and traditional medicine practitioners for optimal results in the health sector.
Oshintelu also implored all traditional practitioners to know their limits while managing patients, noting that “when surgery or other intervention is needed, practitioners should refer patients promptly.
It is not advisable for them to hold on to cases that they cannot handle”.
She commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for the moral and financial support the State government has given to the Board, soliciting that a laboratory is set up to test the efficacy as well as toxicology of medicinal plants and also explore the management of metabolic diseases with traditional products.
