As a major participant in this workshop, what would you say are the major goals and objectives of this programme?
This is the 2nd edition. First, it is to concretise the achievements of the first one. Second, we want a situation where the orthodox medical practitioners are in a situation to prescribe alongside orthodox drugs, Pax Herbal products that have been approved by NAFDAC.

We want to propagate that which God has given to us to sustain us in the environment He has chosen to place us. Our ability to tap what is around us is also very important. The orthodox medical practitioners who have participated in this programme are very enthusiastic to know about herbal medicine, especially in a situation where they are prepared very close to scientific methods.

The idea is for them to go back to their respective clinics and be well disposed to recommend or use these herbal medicines in a situation where they believe and are convinced that they will also assist the patient.

However, herbal products are very cheap to produce and are readily available. The main objective is to bring health nearer to the people on a more massive scale.
Some senior orthodox medical practitioners in the public service continue to harp on the need for clinical trials.

How do you juxtapose their insistence on the backdrop of a herbal product that has proven to be medically reliable and effective for upward of ten years and also approved by NAFDAC?
In a marriage, the beginning is always tedious. It is allowed that they ask for clinical trials, that is why we want to bring them closer to educate them. A herbal preparation is made from bitter leaf. And this bitter leaf has been taken by the same person for over 40 years, which other clinical trial do you want? If a drug is prepared from onion, tomatoes, beans, common vegetable, and these are part of the persons normal daily needs that keeps him fit and healthy, what other clinical trials do we need?

That is why we have divided the products into three. The ones that are likely to be drugs; the ones that can be served as food supplements; and the ones that can be used as food generally.
For the ones that can be used as drugs, there is no harm in conducting clinical trials, because we would know, at least, what dosage will be good for what age, the body weight and even lifestyle. But it should not be a major point of emphasis because we have gone beyond that argument.
I think herbal medicine has done more clinical trials than the orthodox sector because every body eats food. Nobody eats eba or beans and have a reaction, or eat gari and beans and have a reaction because they are natural food for the body.

What is the proposed collaboration between Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, College of Medicine, Ekpoma and Pax Herbal Ewu designed to achieve?
The partnership is basically to bring health nearer to the people. We are also willing to educate our orthodox practitioners on the use of herbal medicine. If the partnership materialises as we hope it will, ISTH will be in a position to have on their pharmacy shelf, orthodox as well as Pax Herbal preparations approved by NAFDAC.

And they will be in a position to prescribe any of them depending on the cases before them. And we can even get to the level of having a ward, male and female, for traditional cure, so that they can transfer cases from their own ward under the auspices of the same orthodox medical practitioners, trained by Pax Herbal, so that the whole process will be holistic.

The primary principle is health for all. One person sees a snake; another person kills it; that the snake is dead is the primary objective. But when we are divided amongst ourselves, we loose more than we gain.

In all of these, how do you see the future of herbal medicine?
The answer is very simple. Africa has survived more on herbal medicine than on orthodox drugs. So, the future of herbal medicine is very, very great. We are happy we are beginning to be aware of the potentials of herbal medicine. Granted, we have lost some because we neglected it for many years. Most of our practitioners have died and their children did not take over from them. But now that we aware everybody is convinced that the answer to African health is in herbal medicine.
If you go to China, their population is very high. Every Chinese person, no matter his qualification turns back to herbal medicine for survival. Only very few cases that require scientific attention are sent to the hospital.

So, you find that the hospitals have less work and that is why the population is always growing. But here, because we don't know what to do, people die when they should not die.

Every body should write on a piece of paper and place it on his wall: Many people die while the herb that would have cured them grow on their graves. If you enter a cemetery, it is telling a story!

Dr. Samuel Emua is the Head of the Department of Botany, Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma. He spoke to NATH OMAME, Jr, on the agitation for clinical trials of herbal medicine and the need for collaboration between orthodox and herbal medicine practitioners.

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