In line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) African Traditional Medicine Day, Togo will integrate traditional medicine into medical studies in its public universities.

The announcement was made by Dr Koffi Koudouvo, expert in pharmacology and traditional medicine at OOAS, the West African Health Organization, and president of WANNPRES Togo, the national branch of the West African Network of Natural Products’ Research Scientists, reported Télégramme228.

He was speaking the day before the WHO’s 17th African Traditional Medicine Day on 31 August, the theme of which was “Integrating traditional medicine in educational curricula”.

He said the WHO had recognised that few universities included traditional medicine in doctors’ training, reported Télégramme228. “This lack has continued the problem of discrimination or stigmatisation of those practising this medicine by their colleagues practising conventional medicine; in spite of the efforts of the OOAS in favour of integration, this disparity still exists.”

He welcomed efforts made by ministry of health officials who had presented the texts for application to the minister, “texts [which] will now lead to practitioners of traditional medicine being formally recognised at the level of the health ministry”.

The curricula were prepared and the text had been voted, and all was now ready for courses to start in public universities, so practitioners of traditional medicine would have qualifications endorsed by the universities, said Koudouvo.

The event was jointly organised by Association Xoesse, the Regional Association of Traditional Therapies, which represents traditional practitioners from Togo, Benin and Ghana.

Its chair, Zikpo K Adzavon, called on practitioners of traditional medicine to sign up to the course so they could offer better treatment to their patients in a country where more than 80% of the population treated themselves with traditional remedies, reported Télégramme228. – Compiled by Jane Marshall

This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.

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