Middle Medicine

from: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/9/34/658616

World health body endorses traditional medicine
Sunday, 9th November, 2008

HEALTH representatives from more than 70 countries gathered in Beijing on Friday to swap ideas on how to make traditional medicine, ranging from acupuncture to leech treatment, more widely available.

The two-day World Health Organisation (WHO) event, built around seminars on regulatory standards and folk medicine in cultures from South Africa to Japan, is expected to end with member countries agreeing to expand traditional medicine in their health care systems.

WHO officials at the event said blending traditional and Western medicine could make each more effective. “Integration of traditional medicine into national health systems will not only bring benefits to patients, but will also ensure safety and proper use,” assistant WHO director-general Carissa Etienne told reporters at a briefing.

Speakers also called for research on traditional medicines, which WHO director-general Margaret Chan called “a valuable source of leads for therapeutic advances and the discovery of new classes of drugs”.

Herbal and other treatments have sometimes been found effective in studies. Artemisinin, a plant ingredient used in southern China for centuries to fight malaria, became regarded as the best treatment for the disease after research proved its ability to clear parasites quickly.

(…continue reading at this link)

We can be very insulated in the “developed world”. I guess that’s why they call it the “developing world”.