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Health: Traditional medicine

ethiopia_tradmed_PVirotWHO

Traditional medicine is growing in popularity, yet standardised international regulation has still to be formulated, and the excessive use of medicinal plants can threaten biodiversity.

(Photo credit: WHO/P.Virot)

Opinions and Analysis

nurse administering tb drugs Uphill struggle against tuberculosis

Africa and India are struggling in the fight against tuberculosis, say Richard E. Chaisson, Neil A. Martinson and Vikram Paralkar.

17 March 2008 | EN | 中文
Source: New England Journal of Medicine

Traditional medicine stall Room for traditional medicine in Ghana?

Traditional healers can help deliver key health services in Ghana, argues Kofi Akosah-Sarpong.

16 May 2007 | EN
Source: AllAfrica.com

Policy Briefs

National and regional laws to protect IK related to genetic resources

The past decade has seen the development and, in some cases, adoption of national legislation to protect indigenous knowledge (IK) in certain countries and regions. Manuel Ruiz identifies and analyses the issues raised by the best-known IK protection laws and policies.

11 March 2004 | EN

Global legislation on indigenous knowledge

Recent years have seen rising interest in the commercial exploitation of indigenous knowledge. But there are serious concerns over who benefits from this knowledge. Anju Sharma puts this debate into context by describing how the issue is being played out at the global level.

1 March 2004 | EN | 中文


News and Features

Nepal Himalayas 'lush with plants of medicinal value'

Researchers have found that more than half the plants in west Nepal have medicinal use — higher than that reported in previous studies.

5 January 2009 | EN

Laws to protect native knowledge 'are failing'

Laws to ensure native communities retain the rights to local knowledge are in reality a barrier to progress, says a report.

28 November 2008 | EN | ES | 中文