Patients seeking medical services at Mbagathi Level Four Hospital will have access to traditional medicine following a move by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri).
Kemri acting Chief Executive Officer and Director-General Elijah Songok said for a long time, the agency has been leading the quest to mainstream herbal medicine.
Speaking in Eldoret during a visit to the Eldoret Kemri branch at Daima Towers on Saturday, Prof Songok said due to national demand, the institution has entered into an agreement with the hospital to establish a traditional medicine research centre to offer herbal medicine.
Accompanied by National Assembly Health Committee chairperson Dr Robert Pukose, Prof Songok said the herbal medicine department at Mbagathi hospital will work with Kemri.
“At Mbagathi hospital, we have a Kemri facility to start piloting the use of traditional medicines for patients who prefer that,” said Prof Songok.
He said the pilot facility will help in the treatment of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension.
“In Kemri we have a very dedicated research centre just for traditional medicines, we are signing an MoU with Mbagathi District Hospital in Nairobi to see if we can establish a side by side a facility for traditional medicine because of national demand, especially for non-communicable diseases whose drugs are rarely available,” said Prof Songok.
The move has been hailed by herbal medicine practitioners across the country terming it as long overdue.
Shadrack Moimet of Koibatek Herbal Medicine Clinic said the decision should have been made a long time ago so as to build the confidence of Kenyans in herbal medicine.
He added that for the project to succeed, Kemri must embrace the input of genuine experienced herbalists through public participation. He cautioned against sidelining traditional herbalists in the operations of the Mbagathi centre.
“This is a good move but Mbagathi must work with experienced genuine herbal medicine dealers by decentralising the services in the entire country to incorporate all communities who value traditional medicines as our heritage,” he said.
The journey towards embracing herbal medicine globally gained momentum in the mid-1970s when the World Health Organization started a drive to promote access to primary care by integrating traditional medicine into the formal health systems.
The National Policy on Traditional Medicine and Medicinal Plants has noted that the optimal dosage for herbal remedies is often unclear.
