The Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) has begun creating a comprehensive national database of traditional medicine practitioners as part of efforts to standardize and strengthen the sector.
The Director-General of NNMDA, Prof. Martins Emeje, disclosed this on Tuesday in an interview with reporters in Abuja.
Emeje made the announcement following his appointment in December 2025 as Co-Chair of the World Health Organization’s Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (STAG-TM).
Speaking on how he plans to leverage the position to advance traditional medicine in Nigeria and Africa, Emeje said the agency recognized the urgent need to index practitioners across the country.
He noted that about 80 per cent of Nigerians—over 160 million people—rely on traditional medicine, particularly in rural communities with limited access to conventional healthcare.
“This initiative will bring organization, credibility, and visibility to Nigeria’s natural medicine sector on the global stage,” he said.
Emeje said the traditional medicine ecosystem, though widely patronized, has remained poorly organized, controversial, and underfunded.
“In my pharmacy profession, I have a license number, and when you enter it on the regulatory body’s website, my credentials, workplace, and license status appear. Traditional medicine in Nigeria has lacked that structure. For the first time, we are solving that problem.
“Eight months ago, we began building a digital database of traditional medicine practitioners, their practices, and their products. After registration, we verify practitioners’ places of practice, the services they provide, and the products they use,” he explained.
The system will issue each practitioner a unique number linked to the full coordinates of their clinic. The target is to capture practitioners in all 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria. A pilot has already been launched in Iseyin Local Government, Oyo State.
“What we have done in that local government will be scaled nationwide. By doing this, we will know the number of traditional medicine practitioners in Nigeria, the services they provide, and their locations. Documentation is the first and most important step in standardization,” Emeje said.
He added that the pilot programme would be presented to the National Assembly as a proposal for nationwide implementation once funding becomes available.
Emeje said the initiative aligns with WHO’s current strategy to support member states in developing comprehensive databases of traditional medicine practitioners. He noted that Nigeria is already benefiting from this global agenda through active policy participation.
On research, Emeje highlighted the lack of global funding for traditional medicine, which remains below one per cent despite its widespread use.
“Research funding for traditional medicine is less than one per cent globally. While pharmaceutical research receives substantial investment, the majority of healthcare consumers—traditional medicine users—receive minimal research support,” he said.
Emeje also identified education and standard-setting as critical pillars for advancing the sector. He said NNMDA’s School of Traditional Medicine is working towards accreditation and quality assurance for training programmes targeting practitioners and interested individuals.
“The goal is not to replace indigenous knowledge but to structure and preserve it through formal education, research, and regulation. Traditional practitioners possess deep expertise, and the role of the system is to recognize, document, and strengthen their knowledge, not undermine it,” he said.
He cited countries such as China and India, which have successfully integrated traditional medicine into their healthcare systems through structured education, research, and policy support.
Emeje said Nigeria will leverage WHO’s renewed focus on traditional medicine to attract increased research funding, generate scientific evidence, and validate the safety and efficacy of natural medicines.
“By aligning with WHO’s strategic objectives for traditional medicine—including evidence-based practice, strong regulatory frameworks, integration into healthcare systems, and international collaboration—Nigeria is moving in the right direction. My position at WHO will allow Nigeria and Africa to contribute meaningfully to global policy discussions, research collaborations, and capacity development in traditional medicine,” he said.
