Currently, more countries are recognizing the role of herbal medicine in their national health system. In China, the use of herbal medicines is well-established for health purposesJakarta (ANTARA) - Herbal medicine, as part of the green pharmacy concept, has become the focus of researchers and the pharmaceutical industry in the world, including G20 countries, an official at the Ministry of Health stated.
"Currently, more countries are recognizing the role of herbal medicine in their national health system. In China, the use of herbal medicines is well-established for health purposes," Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices at the Ministry of Health Lucia Rizka Andalusia noted while delivering a presentation on the agenda of the T20 Indonesia Summit that was monitored from YouTube T20 Indonesia here, Tuesday.
In Japan, 50-70 percent of the herbs have been prescribed. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for America reported that 71 percent of Chile's population and 40 percent of Colombia's population use traditional medicine, Andalusia said.
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"Even among developed countries, herbal medicines are very popular. The use of herbal medicine by residents in France reaches 49 percent; Canada, 70 percent; England, 40 percent; and the United States, 42 percent. This is the condition of the herbal export market in the future," she remarked.
Andalusia said the challenge facing herbal medicine today was the lack of financial support for research on molecular rapid tests and herbal remedies.
In addition, political will and capacity to monitor product safety are still insufficient for information system development and analysis as well as integration into health systems.
Andalusia said Indonesia had around 143 hectares of tropical forest, with 28 thousand plant species, and some 32 thousand materials had been used.
"Indonesia, with its 217-million population, remains a new major player for green pharmaceuticals with herbal products," she remarked.
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The Ministry of Health has made the resilience of the pharmaceutical sector as one of the six pillars of transformation of the health system. This has become the government's support in the development and use of herbal medicine in the health sector.
The Ministry of Health encourages the use of green pharmacy through research and development to the handling and harvesting of raw materials to ensure quality standards in production.
"We are aligning efforts to support SMEs to develop their businesses and markets. On the demand site, we provide the Phytopharmaceutical Formulary, which was launched in the first half of this year," she stated.
In addition, Andalusia said, the government provides special allocation funds for local governments to use local products.
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Translator: Andi F, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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