Herbal Medicine: Egbewole tasks traditional practitioners on quality
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, has charged the traditional medicine practitioners in the country to promote and improve the quality of the herbal medicines they produce.
Prof. Egbewole made the call penultimate Wednesday (May 8, 2024) while declaring open the Herbal Training Workshop organised by the African Centre for Herbal Research in collaboration with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin.
The Vice Chancellor, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Technology and Innovations), Prof. Adegboyega Adisa Fawole, explained that herbal medicines have been an integral part of the country’s cultural and medicinal heritage for centuries.
“In Kwara State, we are blessed with a rich diversity of medicinal plants that have been used to treat various ailments with remarkable efficacy, and in recent years, concerns have been raised about the quality and safety of some herbal medicines”, Prof. Egbewole said, adding that “as a result, there is an urgent need to ensure that these traditional remedies meet the highest standards of quality, safety, and efficacy”.
He encouraged the traditional medicine practitioners to look up to the University as a centre for research and innovation that has the expertise and resources to conduct rigorous scientific studies on herbal medicines, to validate their effectiveness and identify any potential risks.
The Vice Chancellor also noted that the efforts cannot succeed in isolation without the support and collaboration of government agencies, traditional healers, herbal medicine practitioners, and the community at large, saying that “together, we can establish quality control standards, promote best practices in herbal medicine production, and raise awareness about the benefits and potential risks of traditional remedies.”
He, therefore, maintained that by working together, they can harness the healing power of nature to improve the health and well-being of the people, while preserving the rich cultural heritage as herbal practitioners are the custodians of health, particularly in the rural areas.
Also speaking, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Olubunmi Abayomi Omotesho, congratulated the organisers on bringing the ‘town’ to the ‘gown’, saying that it would go a long way in complementing the efforts of the University in realising its Vision 1:10:500.
In her remarks, the Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Dr Aminat Ahmed Imam, appreciated the University under the leadership of Prof. Egbewole, who, she said, has helped to raise the research profile of the University. She noted that the programme would usher in great progress for UNILORIN, Kwara state, and the country as a whole.
Earlier in his remarks, the representative of the host of the programme, Prof. Tajudeen Amusa, explained that the programme was organised to promote the quality of herbal medicine in Kwara State.