Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday said that they would give government support for expansion of traditional medicine and traditional health care services.
He also called upon all to pay attention to forestry and not to cut down trees indiscriminately in a bid to conserve raw materials of traditional medicine.
“Alongside allopathic medicine, traditional medicine is equally important. When allopathic medicine was not developed, traditional medicine was widely practiced. Although the allopathic sector later grew larger, traditional medicine did not grow that way. The government cannot do everything alone. The private sector will take initiative in this regard and the government will provide all kinds of support,” he said.
The health minister made the statements at the concluding ceremony of BIMSTEC Traditional Healthcare Expo-2020 at International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital.
Bangladesh Ayurved Foundation (BAF) and Indian Chamber of Commerce jointly organized the event titled “BIMSTEC Traditional Healthcare Expo 2020”.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen inaugurated the event as the chief guest on Wednesday.
Mentioning that traditional medicine has no side effect, Zahid Maleque said in many countries of the world, traditional medicine is prescribed more than the allopathic one. “So it is time to put more emphasis on this sector. But its main raw material plants are decreasing day by day. We all need to stop tree felling,” he added.
Major General Md Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of Directorate General of Drug Administration, ABM Ghulam Mostafa, President of Bangladesh Ayurved Foundation, AFM Fakhrul Islam Munshi, chief coordinator of organizing committee of the BIMSTEC Healthcare Expo, Sujoy Ghosh, Head of Healthcare Initiative of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and Mujtoba Murshed, adviser (media) at BIMSTEC secretariat also were present at the function.
According to the organizers, the exposition mainly centers on the latest and exciting innovations in every area of alternative healthcare research and it also offers a unique opportunity for investigators from all over the world to network and grasp new scientific interactions about the theme ‘Gain inspiration and develop collaborations on Traditional and Herbal Medicine.’The BIMSTEC is an inter-governmental organization that brings together seven countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand to promote peace, prosperity and sustainable development of the people of the region.