The World Health Organization (WHO) convened its first two-day summit on traditional medicine which began on 17 August, 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. The Indian government co-hosted the meeting. It was a part of the G20 health ministerial meeting aiming at mobilizing political commitment and evidence-based action on traditional medicine-- a first port of call for millions of people worldwide to address their health and well-being needs.
This momentous summit on natural medicine bore a theme called "Towards Health and Well-being for All". It has opened up not only new possibilities for traditional medicine but also created a platform for all stakeholders such as traditional medicine workers, users and communities, national policymakers, international organizations, academics, private sector and civil society organizations. Through this platform the concerned stakeholders have the access to share their best practices and game-changing evidence, data and innovation to unlock the potentials of traditional medicine for the sake of health and sustainable development.
Over the centuries the world people have been using traditional medicine in different ways for removing their ailments. In many cases the conventional medicine of the present world has seen their foundation in traditional sources. It is approximate that 40 per cent of today's pharmaceutical products have come out of traditional medical sources.
Again, the source of many innovative drugs is found to derive from traditional medicine including aspirin, artemisinin, and childhood cancer treatments. We are noticing the rising popularity of traditional medicine even in the advanced scientific era. One hundred and seventy countries have acknowledged the use of traditional medicine along with pharmaceutical medicine. However, they have emphasized on forming international policies, standards and regulation for the safe, cost-effective and equitable use of traditional medicine.
Natural medicine refers to a comprehensive system of health care. Naturopathic practice combines traditional healing approaches with contemporary health science knowledge. In this practice priority is given to disease prevention and healthy living. It is believed in all cases that our body has the ability to self-heal through using natural medicine.
From the writings of the ancient Chinese and Egyptians it was known that many medical uses for plants dated back to 3000 BC. Many herbal therapies which were commonly used for healing were developed by traditional Chinese medicine. It is also demonstrated in the history that African and native Americans used natural medicines in their healing rituals.
In the early 19th century the world saw a fast growth of natural medicine. During the time scientists discovered how to extract and modify the plant's active ingredients. There created a movement when herbal medicine became more universal at the hands of chemists who began to synthesize plant compounds.
Over the years the use of natural medicine has increased many times. It is estimated that eighty per cent people around the globe depend on natural medicine in many ways for their health care. At present doctors around the world prefer prescribing natural medicines to ensure sustainable healing of their patients. The scenario corresponds that health-conscious people are turning away from big pharmaceutical companies and returning to natural medicine.
However, it is no denial that sometimes traditional medicine is not seen with scientific ground. So, it is being replaced by conventional medicine. But the question may be pertinent to raise; how far we have the scope to think traditional medicine insignificant when we see its enormous contribution to modern science and medicine?
The broadly stated term 'natural medicine' may be subdivided into a few categories such as herbal, unani and ayurvedic. Herbal medicine is a concept which describes the practice of using herbs and herbal preparations to maintain health and prevent, alleviate or cure disease whileunani medicine approach finds out the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical causes of illness. Unanimedicine relies on a belief that each individual has the ability to ensure their own well-being.
The concept 'Ayurvedic medicine' originated in India follows that the universe is the combination of five key elements like air, water, fire, earth and ether. The concept also corresponds that every individual possesses these elements. It is believed that with the imbalance of any out of five elements causes illness.
However, the growing popularity of natural medicine is evidenced when we see the expansion of natural medicine market globally. Sources say that the global herbal medicine market was USD 151.91 billion in 2021 which rose to 165.66 billion in 2022. The market is projected to grow USD 347.50 billion by 2029 exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 11.16 during the forecast period. Other statistics show that with the rising popularity the complementary and alternative medicine market is likely to attain a value of USD 493.67 billion by 2030 with a Compound Annual Growth of 22.03 in the period of 2023-2030.
Obviously, the position of India is worth mentioning in establishing a big market of alternative medicines in the world. Besides, ensuring sustainable health care of the people in the state the country is exporting huge alternative medicines in different parts of the world including the United States, Germany, France and many other European countries. The Indian government is very supportive to unlock every potential of alternative medicine with investments in scientific research in AYUSH. The market size of AYUSH industry is booming gradually. In 2014-2015 the market size of traditional medicine was US Dollar 2.85 billion which rose to US Dollar 18.1 billion in 2020.
In Bangladesh we see the demand for herbal medicine is expanding significantly. The health-conscious people are giving much priority on taking natural medicines for removing their ailments. Natural medicines have been clinically proven effective with no side effects. Truly, over the years the market value of natural medicine has increased but experts claim that it should be expanded more as the country is blessed with natures and herbs.
According to an estimate of 2020, the market worth for herbal medicine was about TK 2500 crore, which was one-tenth of that earned by the overall pharmaceutical sector. Due to the rising demand for natural health care, at present many leading drug companies such asSquare, Beximco, Incepta and ACI and Acme, etc. are producing herbal medicines which help them earn TK 800 crore each year combined. According to the list shown in Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) website, there are 204 ayurvedic and 285 unani medicine companies who are estimated to produce more than 7,000 medicines.
It is good to see that Bangladesh government is committed to expanding alternative medical care for people. They are appointing alternative medical practitioners in public hospitals and health centers. However, it is imperative to increase infrastructural, institutional and technological facilities to ensurequality education on indigenous medicines including unani, ayurveda and herbal. Certainly, quality natural medical graduates are the need of the day to enhance the sustainable medical care.It is a must to raise awareness among the people of the country about traditional medical care which not only removes ailments but also enhances healing ability of patients.
The writer teaches at Prime University and also a Research Scholar at the IBS
