Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health says a locally developed herbal medicine for managing sickle cell disease is now prescribed in more than 40 countries.
According to a report from LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health, Dr Adekunle Salako, has announced that one of the country’s herbal medicines for managing sickle cell disease is now being prescribed in over 40 countries.
Dr Salako disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He explained that the medicine, developed by the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), was extracted from local herbs and had undergone scientific evaluation to prove its effectiveness.
“As a matter of fact, I can tell you that one of the medicines being used globally for the control of sickle cell crisis was extracted from herbal medicine in Nigeria. It was developed here in Nigeria by NIPRD, and it is today being prescribed in over 40 countries of the world,” he said.
The minister said the Federal Government was paying renewed attention to traditional and complementary medicine, noting that several Western drugs originated from natural sources. He highlighted the establishment of a Department of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine within the ministry, with some states also creating similar regulatory agencies.
Dr Salako further revealed that researchers had recently identified an herbal compound effective against brain cancer in animals, and clinical trials would soon begin. He added that Nigeria’s capacity for disease prevention and response had improved since COVID-19, saying, “We have nothing to worry about as a country.”