Lagos to prosecute fake traditional medical practitioners

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Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has vowed to prosecute unregistered traditional medical practitioners in the state.

According to The Punch, Sanwo-Olu said this on Thursday during an event to commemorate the 2022 African Traditional Medicine Day in Alausa, Ikeja.

The governor was represented by the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.

He said, “It may surprise you that there are 10,000 registered traditional medicine practitioners in Lagos State. In other words, they have been given the certificate and the licence to practise within a certain discipline of traditional medicine accredited by the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board. There are also, at least, 500 registered complementary and alternative medicine practitioners in Lagos.

“The traditional medicine practitioners are in excess of the conventional doctors and nurses; there are only 4,000 registered doctors in Lagos. However, practitioners must stay within their lanes, and to ensure this, we will revoke the licences of those who practise outside their field and prosecute quacks who have not registered with LSTMB.”

The Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Folashade Jaji, who was represented by the Director of Political Affairs and Special Services, Mrs Olabisi Shonibare, urged practitioners to improve their practice through standardisation of their operations, proper book/record-keeping, and data collection.

The Chairman of the LSTMB, Prof. Adebukunola Adefule-Ositelu, said, “There should be beneficial, meaningful and essential cooperation between traditional and conventional medicine practitioners and we all need to educate the public that traditional medicine is not fetish or occultic, it is natural.”