LSTMB MEETS PRACTITIONERS IN IKEJA DIVISION

. Emphasises Need for Continuous Training of Members 

The Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board, (LSTMB), has reiterated the need for Traditional Medicine Practitioners to train and re-train their members and other stakeholders in the sector.

Speaking at an advocacy and sensitisation programme organised for practitioners in the Ikeja division of the State, the Chairman of the Agency, Professor Adebukunola Adefule-Ositelu, said the Board organised the meet in a bid to scale up its sensitisation campaign and ensure that traditional medicine practitioners operate in line with global best practices.

She added that the campaign was also aimed at canvassing support for locally sourced and produced alternative medicine to promote its usage and entrench its benefits in the minds of Lagosians.

Adefule-Ositelu, who spoke extensively on the benefits of continuous training and retraining of practitioners, registration and certification of their facilities and practices, also warned that the Board has been empowered to regulate traditional practice in the State and sanction recalcitrant practitioners.

The Chairman also called on the practitioners to form a formidable party, through which their trades can be enhanced and potentials optimised, saying that this is the way through which they can command respect, get more patronage and improve their businesses.

She averred that the plan of the State Government is to have a health system that will provide and accommodate everyone, whereby alternative and complementary medicine will exist side by side with every primary and secondary health system, as this will give the citizens the opportunity to make informed decisions regarding the path they prefer.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Registrar, LSTMB, Mr. Olorunkemi Kadiku, noted that over 150 botanical and herbal medicine dispensers also known as “Alagbo” have been trained with a view to regulating their operations.

He added that work has started on the Board’s Botanical Garden approved by the present administration to serve as an authentic source of getting different indigenous plants for use by traditional practitioners.

Kadiku informed that the State Government will put in place an enduring policy and regulatory framework for a sustainable training programme for traditional practitioners with the aim of enhancing their capacity and improving their knowledge.

The advocacy and sensitisation programme was attended by traditional birth attendants, faith-based traditional healers, bone-setters, herbal and roots sellers, botanical and herbal medicine dispensers also known as alagbo, among others.