President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has on Thursday signed into law a bill seeking to give legislative backing for the establishment of the Federal College of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine as an agency under the Federal Ministry of Health to strengthen the capacity of the proposed institution and to give a proper structure to the required formal training ground for the important medical input.
The bill which was sponsored by the Senator representing Kwara Central and Chairman Senate Health Committee, Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe was said to have stemmed from the realities the scourge of the Covid-19 pandemic placed on the healthcare system which underscored the need to explore the option of traditional and alternative medicine in the research into various remedies that can cure major diseases.
While canvassing support for the bill, Oloriegbe expressed the significance of formulating a policy that guarantees improvement in the delivery of healthcare services to the people through the integration of traditional and alternative medicine into the national healthcare delivery system.
According to Oloriegbe during the presentation of the bill, "The need to explore the option of traditional and alternative medicine has become imperative “in light of our present-day realities, especially the ongoing challenge of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the need to find a cure for it from available local herbs and traditional medicine.”
“With this bill, the Federal College of Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine will become a legal institution for the training and re-training of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine professionals in Nigeria and this would enable the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine strategic plan 2014-2023."
"When established, the College will act as an agent of catalyst, through training, research and innovation for effective and economic utilization and conservation of complementary and alternative medicine; develop and offer academic and professional programs leading to the award of diplomas, higher national diplomas and other deserving certificates in the field of complementary and alternative medicine and other related courses; organize research relevant to training in complementary and alternative medicine among other objectives."
The lawmaker while emphasizing that the college would boost the standard of practice of Traditional, Complimentary and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria, underscored its importance towards improving the coordination of evidence-based medicine in the field of Nigeria Indigenous Medicine.
“It will also update the extent of usage of Traditional Medicine in Nigeria and facilitate the implementation of National Policy on integrative medicine.”
“The domestication of the training, (instead of spending huge resources to train people abroad) will prevent unnecessary wastage of hard earn foreign currency which could be put to other essential services. The College would also serve as a training hub for the West African Sub-Region”, Oloriegbe added.
The proposal was said to have been transmitted for assent after going through the legislative processes. The proposal was presented on the floor of the Senate for the first reading on 19th March 2020 and the second reading was taken on 10th June 2020. The public hearing was held on the bill on 14th December 2020 and got passed by the Senate on 29th September 2021 and as well scaled through the House of Representatives on 14th December 2021. The bill was transmitted to the President on 19th September 2022 after which it was granted assent on 19th October 2022.
This feat is the third of its kind to be accomplished by Oloriegbe, having previously secured assent for two of his fifteen legislative proposals, one of which culminated in the establishment of Federal Neuropsychiatric, Budo-Egba and the other brought expansion to social health insurance to accommodate more vulnerable people and mitigate the financial barriers that hamper access to quality health care services.
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