- initiate comprehensive programmes for the identification, evaluation,
preparation, cultivation and conservation of medicinal plants used in
traditional medical practice - ensure quality control of drugs derived from traditional plant
remedies, by using modern techniques and applying suitable standards
and good manufacturing practices.
In pursuance of these goals, the WHO has since 1987 produced a
number of publications on aspects of TMs and in 2002 a comprehensive
TM strategy.^26 This strategy focused on four areas in which action was
deemed necessary if TMs (as well as complementary and alternative thera-
pies) were to play a meaningful role in formal healthcare:
1 National policy and regulation
2 Safety/efficacy/quality
3 Access
4 Rational use.
In 2002, the WHO identified challenges and problems within each area,
which amounted to deficiencies in and/or a lack of, the following.^26
National policy and regulation
- Regulatory/legal mechanisms
- Integration of traditional medical practice within the national healthcare
system - Equitable distribution of benefits with respect to indigenous
knowledge - Adequate resource allocation for TM development.
Safety/efficacy/quality
- An adequate evidence base for traditional medical practice therapies
and products - International/national standards for ensuring safety/efficacy/quality
assurance - Adequate regulation of herbal medicines
- Registration of traditional medical practice providers
- Research methodology.
Access
- Data measuring access levels and affordability
- Official recognition of the role of traditional medical practice providers
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