Traditional
Medicine (TM) refers to health traditions that are used by
indigenous cultures of the world, including but not limited to herbs, spiritual
practices/ritual, guided by local wisdom.We know that hundreds of modern drugs have been extracted from plants that were introduced into medicine from TM.
Indigenous peoples refers to peoples living
in countries with populations composed of different ethnic or racial
groups who are descendants of the earliest populations which survive in the
area. They do not, as a group, control the national government of the
countries in which they live
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are methods used
outside the biomedical mainstream, particularly in industrialized countries,
often these are adaptations of TM
TM/CAM
is found particularly useful in health promotion, prevention, mental health,
improving quality of life and in diseases of the aging.
Much of TM was outlawed during colonialism in the US and replaced with
allopathy or Western medicine. Allopathy or conventional medicine has done much
to destroy the reputation of TM as well. Since independence, many nations are
reevaluating the use of TM.
What are the Benefits
of TM/CAM?
1.Primarily it is affordable
and accessible to all people, especially in 3rd world countries where people
travel far to clinics and do not have money for care.
A study in Peru found that CAM cost effectiveness
was 53-63% higher than allopathy over one year for treating selected
pathologies (osteoarthritis, asthma, anxiety, migraines, peptic acid disease,
exogenous obesity)
2. It is safe
and effective for many conditions; proven by history, although more research
needs to be done to determine best treatments.
3. It respects
culture and heritage of a region. Cultural competency is an important
leadership skill in Public Health.
4. I promotes a Holistic
approach which treats the whole person rather than the
symptoms.
5. It makes it financially possibility
to provide total health care coverage for a world population.
The WHO has
taken an interest in TM and as part of its Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy and plans to:
·
Facilitate integration of TM/CAM into national health care systems.
·
Produce guidelines for TM/CAM to keep it affordable and accessible.
·
Stimulates strategic research into TM/CAM to create a stronger evidence
base.
·
Advocate rational use of TM/CAM to create awareness about safe and
effective therapies.
·
Manage information on TM/CAM to share information between countries.
For many countries medicine means either TM or no medicine. By protecting and building on the knowledge base of TM Public Health officials may be better equipped to treat more people successfully and respectfully.
References:
Bodeker
G. & Kronenberg, F., A public health agenda for traditional, complementary
and alternative medicine. American Journal of PublicHealth. October 2002;
92:1582-1591.
Bodeker,
G. Lessons on integration from the developing world’s experience. BMJ 2001,
322:164-167.
World
Health Organization, Fact sheet N134, Revised May 2003 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs134/en.html
Legal
Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary/Alternative Medicine: A
Worldwide Review
World
Health Organization, 2001. http://www.who.int/medicines/library/trm/who-edm-trm-2001-2/legalstatus.shtml
Richter,
Rowena K.; Herbal Medicine, Chaos in the Marketplace. Haworth Press Inc. 2003.
WHO
Traditional Medicines Strategy 2002-2005, January 2002.
http://www.who.int/medicines/library/trm/trm_strat_eng.pdf
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