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SON raises panel for herbal medicine standardisation

By on August 5, 2015

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria on Monday constituted a committee for the standardisation of herbal medicines.

The Director-General, SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, while inaugurating the committee, said the move would help boost the demand for herbal products.

Addressing members of the committee headed by a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Maurice Iwu, the SON DG urged them to assist the country to boost the standards of herbal medicines to meet the level specified by the World Health Organisation.

Represented by the Director Legal, Mr. Imari Kawu, the SON DG stated that the committee would help articulate Nigeria’s contributions to the harmonisation process of the African Regional Organisation for Standardisation’s Technical Committee on Africa Traditional Medicine.

While regretting that the country had not been able to export its herbal medicines, Odumodu said some of the challenges being encountered by traditional medicine practitioners could be addressed through effective processing and standardisation of their products.

He said, “The need for standardisation entails the preparation of products under good manufacturing practice, botanical verification, quality consideration, evaluation of safety and efficacy, labelling as well as physical and chemical stability of the products in the containers in which they are marketed.

“You are expected to work with technical experts from Africa using this National Mirror Committee platform to make inputs to the standards harmonisation process.

“I call upon you to work assiduously towards providing standards in herbal medicines that will meet the WHO certification system on quality of pharmaceutical products in the international committee.”

Responding, Iwu promised to work towards ensuring effective regulation among herbal medicine practitioners.

He also canvassed the inclusion of traditional medicine in the nation’s health care delivery system in view of its efficacy in curing some life’s threatening ailments.

The former INEC boss promised that the committee would come up with a policy recommendation that would be acceptable to the African Regional Standards Organisation.

 

 

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