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WHO Aims for Safety in the
Use of Traditional Medicines
By Jill Moss
This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development Report.
The World Health Organization says people need more
information about how to safely use traditional medicines. The W.H.O.
now has guidelines to suggest ways for public health officials to develop
that information. The health agency is part of the United Nations.
The W.H.O. says up to eighty percent of people in
developing countries depend on traditional medicines. More and more
people in wealthy countries use them too. But the W.H.O. notes that
just because products are natural does not always mean they are safe.
It says reports of bad reactions have increased sharply in the last
few years.
In China, for example, about ten-thousand harmful
drug reactions were reported in two-thousand-two. There were just four-thousand
cases reported between nineteen-ninety and nineteen-ninety-nine.
Traditional medicines are made from plants, animal
products and minerals. The health agency says they remain largely outside
government control.
In most countries, traditional medicines can be purchased
without a doctor's order. Sometimes they are prepared by friends or
by the patients themselves. The W.H.O. says this situation raises concerns
about the quality of treatments and the lack of professional supervision.
Lee Jong-wook is Director-General of the organization.
Doctor Lee says the W.H.O. supports the use of traditional medicines
when they have been shown to help and to have few risks. But he says
governments should have the tools to make sure people get the best information.
Under the new guidelines, traditional healers would
have to be skilled. And they would have to be listed with the government.
Also, people would have to be informed about how and where to report
problems. Doctor Lee says governments can also use the guidelines to
create media campaigns about the issue.
The suggestions are based on the experiences of one-hundred-two
countries. The W.H.O says it hopes its new guidelines will help educate
people about the health care choices they make.
Internet users can find the document at www.who.int.
The full name is "Guidelines on Developing Consumer Information
on Proper Use of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine."
The site again is www.who.int.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written
by Jill Moss. This is Robert Cohen.
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