NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 29, 2003: Many people opt for traditional medicines because they are affordable and believed to be less harmful. As a result, the market is flooded with scores of Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha cures, but there is no official machinery to give them accreditation. Experts have voiced concerns about their safety, quality, licensing of providers and standards of training in connection with traditional medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently come out with a traditional medicine strategy for 2002-2005, which focuses on these issues. According to WHO, 70 percent of the Indian population use traditional medicine for their primary health needs. Last week, a group of experts met here to plan out an adequate strategy for integration of traditional medicine with the health care system in India. They have recommended a separate set of standards for regulating traditional medicine and the setting up of a body to provide accreditation to medicinal claims.
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