Harare, 18 May 2012 -- The Regional consultation on traditional medicine practices, practitioners and products ended in Harare on Friday with renewed calls for further investment in traditional medicine.

Participants adopted recommendations urging countries to establish mechanisms for equitable sharing of royalties; foster mutual respect among the practitioners of traditional medicine and conventional medicine; and promote medicinal plant gardening in order to make up for the shortage of raw materials.

Countries were also encouraged to draw up national frameworks for strengthening collaboration between traditional medicine and conventional medicine; and to develop programmes for capacity building of health science students as well as practitioners of traditional medicine and conventional medicine.

The recommendations further commit the WHO Regional Office for Africa to strengthen advocacy with governments for allocation of adequate resources to traditional medicine; and to provide support to countries for collection of data on traditional medicine practices.

Additionally, partner agencies were called upon to take appropriate measures for the protection of traditional medicine practices and knowledge; organize regional consultations on documents for regulation of traditional medicine practices, practitioners and products adopted during the sessions; and provide technical and financial support to countries for industrial production of traditional medicines.

Participants in the regional consultations included about 50 experts from 18 countries of the African Region, research and training institutions, traditional medicine practitioners associations, institutions for intellectual property rights protection and nongovernmental organization involved in the promotion of traditional medicine.

Following this consultation, a workshop on traditional medicine research and development, to be organized by WHO, will be held in Harare from 21 to 23 May 2012. Representatives of about 20 countries of the African Region, traditional medicine institutions, traditional medicine practitioners and programme officers and experts of intellectual property rights protection are expected to attend the meeting starting in Harare on Monday, May 21, 2012.

Members of the WHO Regional Expert Committee on traditional medicine and the African Union Commission for scientific and technical research, nongovernmental organizations involved in traditional medicine promotion, representatives of the AYUSH Department, India, ICS, UNIDO and other partners will participate in the upcoming workshop.

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For further information:

Media contact: Flavienne Issembè – Cell phone: + 263 779949657 (Harare) / + 47241 39352 (WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo);

Wendy Julias – Cell phone: + 263 772431408 (WHO Office, Harare - Zimbabwe)

Technical contact: Dr Ossy Kasilo – Cell phone: + 263 775291418 (Harare) /+ 47241 39268 (WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville - Congo)