LAGOS TRADITION MEDICINE BOARD HOLDS ADVOCACY PROGRAMME IN IGBOGBO

The Lagos State Traditional Medicine (LSTMB) has taken its advocacy and sensitisation programme to Igbogbo area of the State. 

The event, which took place on Tuesday at the Palace of the Oba of Igbogbo, HRM, Dr. Semiudeen Orimadegun, is tailored towards creating awareness of Traditional Medicine in the State while encouraging unregistered practitioners to register with the Board.

Speaking at the event, the Registrar of LSTMB, Prince Babatunde Adele said the programme is being done in different zones of the state quarterly to serve as a platform for practitioners and stakeholders to dialogue, exchange ideas, and build networks within the Traditional Medicine Community.

Adele added that the Agency has come up with a plan to embark on creating a compendium where all practitioners will be captured so that their clients can easily access them both online and offline when their service is needed anywhere around the State. 

He, however, advised practitioners not to give out their certificates to others for use as the inspectorate team of the Board will be going around the State to monitor the activities of practitioners, stressing that anyone caught involved in any illegality or quackery would be severely penalised.

Also speaking at the event, the Oba of Igbogbo, HRM, Dr. Semiudeen Orimadegun said the programme is a welcome one. He tasked the Board to work hand in hand with the Police Force so that genuine practitioners would be known to them and put a stop to their harassment.

He also urged the Board to make its registration/renewal process as smooth as possible and affordable for all.

The Head of Department, Research Training and Development, LSTMB, Mr Hakeem Bello, who shared valuable insights on becoming a licensed practitioner in the State, said before any individual can approach the Board for a license, he/she must have had a minimum of three years of mentorship under a renowned mentor.

Bello said on the completion of the three-year mentorship, the individual must be certified by the mentor, after which he/she can then approach the Board and undergo a six-week compulsory orientation course before being licensed as a practitioner in the state.

In his words, “We are also looking at integrating Traditional Medicine practice into the Orthodox Practice, and as such, the Agency has concluded that whoever is going to be a practitioner must belong to an association so as to be traceable”.

He added, that the Board is introducing a redocumentation exercise for creating a compendium for practitioners, such that when their clients need a specific service, they can easily search online or offline within their proximity.

He averred that the Board is coming up with an annual capacity development programme which will serve as a refresher course for practitioners who have undergone their orientation course a long time ago and will now be part of requirements for renewal.