Health minister opens traditional medicines centre

The centre will offer potential for trade in traditional medicinal plants

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the Health Minister, has launched the National Reference Centre for African Traditional Medicines in Pretoria. The launch coincides with the celebration of the first African traditional medicines day today.

The centre will serve as a database on African traditional medicines and it will strive to also promote patents and intellectual property rights in the field of traditional medicines. It will also promote research and standardisation of products based on medicinal plants.

The centre will be run jointly by the national health department, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). International health sector delegates and local traditional healers attended the ceremony.