By: IndyPress News Desk

A Professor of Ethnobotany in the Faculty of Science, University of Ibadan, Professor Taiye Remi Fasola has called on the Nigerian Government and other interested stakeholders to tap into the growing herbal medicine market which according to her is expected to reach $550 billion by the year 2030.

She made the call while delivering the 568th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ibadan on behalf of the Faculty of Science.

The lecture was entitled, “Ethnomedicine: The Mother of Modern Medicine.”

Professor Fasola advised the government and other interested stakeholders to tap into the herbal medicine market by exploring nature for medicinal plant species, which if properly harnessed, its value chain can spur economic growth, assist health care delivery and provide employment for the youths.

She, however, called for urgent action as some of the medicinal plants are going into extinction.

To stem the tide of increasing loss of medicinal plants, she recommended that research institutes and universities should be funded for large-scale production of plant seedlings, especially the threatened and endangered species usually collected from the wild.

Professor Fasola further called for the incorporation of medicinal plants into Botanical Gardens, public parks, forestry, and agricultural stations.

She also called on the University of Ibadan and public spirited individuals to give urgent attention to the UI Botanical Garden, which is consistently being degraded by erosion and other factors.

Professor Fasola also stressed the need to encourage rural dwellers to grow the medicinal plants that they need rather than uprooting them from the wild.

She stated that this was attainable through adequate publicity by the State Governments and the Local Government Councils.

The inaugural lecturer counselled governments and their agencies to provide medicinal plant seeds, saplings, and other propagation materials free of charge to farmers.

Professor Fasola recalled that in November 2023, the National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners urged President Tinubu to expeditiously assent to the country’s Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine Council Bill.

She explained that the bill aims at protecting and regulating traditional medicine practices in Nigeria in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to integrate traditional medicine into health care systems.

She therefore used the opportunity to urge President Tinubu to take urgent action on the bill as it will be a significant step towards recognising and institutionalising alternative medicine in Nigeria.

Credit – UI Directorate of Public Communication