Traditional medicine practitioner and founder, Quincy Wellness and Naturopathic Centre, Dr Quincy Olasumbo Ayodele, has called on the national assembly to fast-track the passage of the Traditional Medicine Bill to regulate and promote proper practice of traditional medicine in the country.
Ayodele, who is a World Health Organization (WHO) expert on development of natural medicine, made the call during an interactive session with the media held on Thursday, 8th September in Lagos.
“There should be enabling laws that regulate the practice of herbal medicine.
Awareness and education for practitioners in other health-related fields will help to promote the practice," she noted, adding that, "It is good to also educate people to know that traditional medicine is not evil; but like every field, we have people who are not doing what they are supposed to do."
According to Mrs. Ayodele, medicinal plants in Nigeria are being underutilized, despite rising global demand for herbal medication.
Herbal and traditional medicine is supposed to be a cultural way of not only treating people but also diagnosing different types of health problems.
Quincy stated that herbal and traditional medicine should not be seen as a threat to other medical practices.
''Anybody feeling threatened by our practice should go back to school and we are ready to train them if they don't know anything about what we do because we have knowledge of what they do and we are ready to train them''.
If the bill is passed it will be well with Nigeria.
Speaking further on the advantage of passing traditional medicine bill, Quincy said; ''it will encourage professionals in the industry to integrate with the orthodox medical practitioner, just as Quincy has done because that is what is obtainable in many parts of the world now."
Quincy remains the only practitioner in the industry that has fully integrated by combining the traditional and orthodox systems for a better approach to treatment of ailments.
''We are supposed to be a nation that is supported by nature, we have all the natural resources around us, so, is it okay for us to put that nature behind us? what do you think nature will do if we care less? Nature will just begin to bring all diseases we think our practice can cure and, at the end of the day, we will realize that it's only nature that can cure the diseases," she warned.
''For instance, Covid-19 was a test, it forced everybody to go back to nature because you are putting your eyes on something else and eradicating nature to the background. So nature came out and said okay let me see how you are going to do it because it is still traditional medicine that managed Covid-19 proper," Quincy said.
She added that “traditional medicine is all that we had before the emergence of modern medicine. And the same applies to all cultures and civilisations. The continued interest and research into traditional medicine is the right way to go for further development of these ancient herbs in Nigeria."
Meanwhile, the ageless herbal treatment expert, has just been honoured by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Health for her commitment and expertise in the herbal health solution sector. Quincy was recognized alongside few other notable personalities during this 2022 celebration of African Traditional Medicine Day.
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