28 I NATURM, HEALTH
THH GUARDIAN, Thursday, December 29,2013
Alternative medicine practitioners allege marginalisation of members by Medical Council By Chukwuma Muanya
MPLEM1-NTARY and I tentative Medicine (CAM) Stakeholders Forum has decried ihe lopsided ness in the composition of Medical andDental Council regretting chat only 15 CAM practitioners have been registered by die Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) in 20 years. -.The forum, however, called the enactment of a separate Council and establishment of a Central Alternative Medicine Board for all practitioners to put an end tc the marginalisation of its members. The forum also condemned the illegal interference of MDCN in the affairs of CAM in Nigeria and callon well meaning Nigerians and die Justice Ministry to prevail on MDCN to obey oro;r cf a court of competent jurisdiction that had removed CAM matters away from MDCN. National Coordinator, CAM Stakeholders Forum, Dr. Isaac Ayodele, in a press statement said: "Sadly, very sad, up till now. the Federal Ministry of Healdi is yet to obey the Lagos State High Court order to establish a Central Alternative Medicine Board for all practitioners of alternative medicine. "Instead of obeying the court order not tc control alternative medicinu.MDCN has been intimidating CAM practitioners. For close to 20 years, MDCN has cnly been able to reluctantly, register 15 Alternative Medicine Practitioneri in Nigeria." CAM is a branch of natural
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medical system, it is one of the Tripod Medical Systems recognised and promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the other two being allopathic medicine and traditional medicine. CAM comprises fields of study such as naturopathy, homeopathy, osteopathy and acupuncture just to mention a few. However, the Federal Government, faced with the task of protecting the teeming masses patronising and benefiting from CAM treatments in 1992 by Decree 78, amended the Medical and Dental Council Practitioners Act [CAP 221] laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1988 and saddled MDCN with the additional responsibility of supervising and controlling the practice of Homeopathy
Heallfi minister. Prof. Onyebuclii Chi&wu
and other forms of alternative medicine. For avoidance of doubt and ambiguity, the Decree went ahead to interpret "alternative medicine" in
the lawas "naturopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture and osteopathy." Ayodele said that CAM Stakeholders Forum in Nigeria had been demanding for the enactment of a separate Council to put an end to the torture of its members. He explained: The Bill foran Act to establish Alternative Medicine Council of Nigeria to promote the growth and regulate the practice of Alternative Medicine and for other matters connected therewith' sponsored by Gozie Agbakoba which has gone through the second reading in the House is considered by CAM Stakeholders as the way out of the debacle. The forum has made calls on, the National Assembly to ensure the speedy passage of the Bill.'
Ayodele said that CAM practitioners were not enemies of The Federal Ministry of Health, but were also friends of MDCN, their love for conventional medicaJ practitioners too had no bounds but they should not be treated as terrorists in their own country "We should also not be treated as nonentities or illiterates. We are very versed. We are graduates of recognised institutions and universities. Similarly, we. CAM stakeholders in Nigeria have realised that rancor is not the way to advance our course. We have therefore ended theera of discord among us and we are prepared to work with the Federal Ministry of Health to move Complementary and Alternative Medicine to greater heights." he said.
He further explained: "CAM is die father of medicine. It is in fact the authentic orthodox medicine. We should remove politics from medicine. Let us stop toying with human lives. CAM has oeen in existence before the conventional medicine no doubt but CAM never resisted the advent of the conventional medicine. CAM is unique, so also are its methodologies. -:. "You cannot always use the standard of conventional medicine to standardise CAM. it might also help to recall medicine's own history, as its emergence as a scientific, evidence-based discipline is both very recent, and very much a work in progress.This isa journey that at least some CAM therapies have already begun and it will grow naturally."
Vitamin A-fortified cassava developed by IIIA to taclde malnutrition in Africa A RESEARCH team led by the /international Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IFTA) has developed three new varieties of vitamin Acassavadiat could improve the livelihoods of millions of farmers in Africa and help put an end to malnutrition due to vitamin A deficiency in the continent. The vitamin Acassava varieties named by the National Variety release Committee of Nigeria as UMUCASS 36, UMUCASS 57, and UMUCASS 38 are recognised as IFTA genotypes IMS 01/I36S, TMS 01/1412, and IMS
01/1371. They have high beta carotene (pro-vitamin A) and are suitable for food uses as gari, fufu, and high quality cas-
sava flour.
The yellow root colour of the vitamin A-rich varieties are products of over 20 years of breeding efforts for improved nutritional quality using traditional breeding methods involving hybridisation and selection of cassava seedlings followed by clona! propagation of [he selected desirable plants. Drs. Peter Kulakow and Norbert Maroya, 1ITA Cassava Breeders, said: "The development of these varieties is a major breakthrough that will change thenutriiionalstatusof people living on cassava-based food." Known for its high carbohydrate content, cassava is the
fourth largest staple after wheat, maize, and rice consumed in die developing countries, with over 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa relying on the crop for over half of their daily food energy. The bio-fortification of cassava with provitamin A provides a cos t-effecti ve way of combati ng vitamin A deficiency in the region where millions are malnourished and many people live on less than Si per day. In Nigeria where die average consumption of cassava is 600 grams per capita perday.about 20 percent of pregnantwomen and about 30 per cent of children under five suffer from vitamin A deficiency. Resultant
health implications include low immunity and impaired vision, which often lead to blindness and even death. Maroya said that the releaseof this first set of vitami n A cassava varieties in Nigeria was "a victory for women and children/ The project, funded by Harvestplus, was carried out by IITA with the Nigeria-based National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRi). Umudike and with other local partners. Dr. Chiedozie Egesi, NRCRI Cassava Breeder, said that the development of the varieties marked a new dawn in Nigeria's cassava industry as it was the first set of 'nutritious
cassava developed and released in Nigeria.' ;i" . Farmers who participatedfin die project loved the varieties for their high-yielding ability and resistance to major diseases and pesL "--, . "Demand for these varieties has already started, but it will take some time before we have enough quantities to give out," said Paul llona, the HarvestPlus Manager for Nigeria. The yellow cassava is already being multiplied through stem cuttings. In 2013, when sufficient certified sterns will be available, HarvestPlus and its partners will then distribute these to about 25,000 farming households initially.
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