In Kenya, Hing Pal Singh is one of the patients who visits the Oriental Chinese Herbal Clinic in the capital, Nairobi.
Singh is 85 years old. He has had problems with his back for five years. Singh is now trying herbal treatments. These are medicines made from plants.
“There is a slight difference,” Singh said. “… It’s only a week now. It will take at least another 12 to 15 sessions. Then we see how it goes.”
A 2020 study from the Beijing research group Development Reimagined, said that traditional Chinese herbal treatments were becoming more popular in Africa.
And an opinion piece published in the state-run China Daily in February 2020 praised Chinese traditional medicine. It said it would increase the Chinese economy, improve world health, and increase China’s soft power.
Possible harm
Sultani Matendechero is the head of Kenya’s National Public Health Institute. He said patients are overlooking the possible harm. He said some herbal treatments can cause problems, especially if used too often or at too high an amount.
Matendechero said that they do work in a number of situations. He added that he and other doctors are concerned that herbal medicines are not regulated enough.
The safety and effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine is still debated around the world. However, herbal medicine specialists such as Li Chuan continue to gain popularity among those seeking non-Western medicine. Li established the Oriental Chinese Herbal Clinic.
Li said some of his patients were improving from herbal COVID-19 treatments. However, there is little scientific evidence to show that these can help against the disease.
“Many people buy our herbal tea to counter COVID-19,” Li said. “The results are good,” he added.
Environmentalists fear the growth of traditional Chinese medicine will mean that more hunters will go after endangered animals. Animals like rhinoceroses and some kinds of snakes are used to make some traditional treatments.
Daniel Wanjuki is an environmentalist and the lead expert at Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority. He said that people saying that a part of the rhino can be used in the treatment of sexual problems has endangered rhinos in Kenya and the rest of Africa.
Less costly than other medicines
National information from Kenya shows the country spends an estimated $2.7 billion each year on health care.
Kenyan economist Ken Gichinga said herbal medicine could lower African medical costs if proven effective. He said Africans go to other countries like the United Arab Emirates to get treatment.
“Africans spend quite a lot of money traveling to countries such as India and the UAE to get treatment,” he said. He noted that Africans could gain a lot if herbal medicine “can provide more natural, cost-effective health care.”
The Pharmacy and Poisons Board is Kenya’s national drug regulator. In 2021, it approved the sale of Chinese herbal health products in the country. Herbal specialists like Li hope that more nations will approve Chinese herbal medicine in the future.
Original article by admin, if reproduced, please cite the source as: https://www.tcmha.com/tcmnews/china-exports-its-traditional-medicine-to-africa.html
相关推荐
-
European, Chinese scholars join hands to advance traditional Chinese medicine
TCM, with its holistic and multifaceted approach to healing, is different from Western medicine’s treatment methods. Collaboration between TCM and Western medicine offers new opportunities for development in both medical systems.
-
Traditional Chinese Medicines ignore science, pose safety concerns, says report
The presence of toxins in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM), their questionable clinical trials and lack of scientific evidence about their efficacy are raising many eyebrows. The detailed results of the trials of TCM are also not being published in public and the presence of toxins is not indicated on the packaging of TCM products due to lack of guidelines and required regulations, according to Inside Over. Arthur Grollman, a cancer researcher at Stony Brook University in New York, has published work showing how Aristolochic acid, an ingredient in many TCM…
-
China composes TCM therapy for patients with Omicron by studying their syndromes
A pharmacist fulfills a Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) prescription at Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Lanzhou, northwest China’s Gansu Province, Oct. 23, 2021. (Xinhua) China will study traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy to treat patients with the Omicron strain, experts with the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine said on Thursday. Practitioner said TCM could play a bigger role in COVID-19 treatment if patients with the Omicron strain showed mild symptoms or none, as studies showed, as TCM has proven effective in treating COVID-19 patients through…
-
Hospitals enhance rehab and TCM on post-COVID symptoms
According to Dr Liu Danwei from Shanghai Yida Hospital, the hospital’s outpatient clinic for recovered COVID-19 patients consists of doctors from departments of general medicine, respiratory disease, neurology, TCM, cardiology, health checkups, rehabilitation and radiation.
-
Demand soars for Chinese medicine to treat COVID-19 despite Australian ban
It’s the Chinese medicine often compared to paracetamol. Lianhua Qingwen has long been used in mainland China to treat common colds and flu-like symptoms. The traditional Chinese medicine is also given to children, albeit in smaller doses. Since the start of the pandemic, Chinese authorities and scientists have been saying it is even effective at easing symptoms of Covid-19. It’s prompted some members of Australia’s Chinese community to stock-up on the medication available in China over-the-counter and with a prescription. “Lianhua Qingwen is very effective for symptoms such as the…
-
China turns to lemons, peaches and traditional medicine in wake of Covid wave
Covid cases in China saw a spike following the country’s relaxation of strict Covid rules. Also rising: the prices of traditional Chinese medicine and lemons, as Chinese citizens scramble for protection from the virus.Prices of fruits rich in vitamin C and antioxidants are seeing surges due to higher demand.Shares of Chinese pharmaceutical companies involved in the production of traditional Chinese medicine also notched their highest figures in a year in early December.
-
Shanghai launches digital TCM innovation center to benefit patients across the world with quality TCM resources
Shanghai has launched a digital traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) innovation center, vowing to benefit patients from across the world with quality TCM treatment resources. The project led by Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine consists of three parts: the big data center, the internet medical center and the exhibition center of TCM. Based on the health record database of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission combined with patients’ data from the university and its affiliated hospitals, the big data center will integrate scientific research, medicine research and development, and the inheritance…
-
Long Covid: how traditional Chinese medicine can help with symptoms from fatigue and persistent cough to erectile dysfunction
More people are turning to traditional Chinese medicine to recover from long Covid, a Hong Kong-based practitioner says. While there is no specific herb to treat long Covid – each patient is assessed according to their unique presentation – there are some broad guidelines.
-
Traditional Chinese medicine is effective for recurrent respiratory infections in children: Study
Indeed, the adoption of YPF in RRTI treatment could benefit thousands of children worldwide, and especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. YPF could be one among a line of TCMs gaining worldwide recognition for their treatment benefits, crossing out the “pseudo” while focusing on the “science.”
-
TCM doctors in China increase efforts to help cure malaria worldwide
Xu Qingfeng, deputy director of the Health Commission of Guangdong province, said artemisinin was inspired by Lingnan, and TCM experts and practitioners from Guangdong have been proving its effectiveness ever since an artemisinin drug was first produced.
