Abuja, Nigeria (CU)_ In view of African Traditional Medicine Day (ATMD), experts estimate that Nigeria may earn over $19.4 billion (N13.58 trillion) annually by improving some areas of traditional medicine (TM). In addition, they provided ideas on how TM may be expanded to improve the country’s foreign exchange revenues and healthcare.
According to Prof. Dele Olowokudejo, a professor of taxonomy and economic plants from the Department of Botany, Faculty of Science at the University of Lagos, the collection, harvesting, and marketing of wild herbal plants has the potential to generate a major source of revenue for the rural community as well as the government if executed in an organized manner.
Olowokudejo stated that the professional packaging and commercialization of herbal therapies and medications would generate foreign exchange for the government. He said, “The world market for herbal remedies in 1999 was calculated to be worth $19.4 billion (N13.58 trillion)”. The professor also stated that TM might be utilized efficiently to combat viral and infectious disorders, including COVID-19, monkeypox, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, and others.
According to him, a number of herbal medicines have been in use since ancient times, curing viral and infectious diseases for a very long time. Additionally, various herbal plants containing antiviral compounds have been reported in ethnomedicinal literature. However, he demanded that more fundamental and applied research be conducted to screen for efficacy, toxicity, and side effects. He said, “Herbal sources provide researchers enormous scope to explore and bring out viable alternatives against viral and infectious diseases”.
According to Boaz Adegboro and Jibril Imran, professors of microbiology and immunology from the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, the Nigerian government, with the support of the ministry of health, is trying hard to overcome these challenges, and the majority of the issues were discussed during a recent meeting.
