Yaye Kene Gassama Dia visited the centre of Traditional Medicine of Fatick

Fatick, January  22 (APS) - The Minister for Scientific Research, Yaye Kene Gassama Dia visited on Saturday in Fatick, (155 km away from Dakar), the Centre of Traditional Medicine (CEMETRA) which is the headquarters of Malango, an association that is 550 healers strong, noted the special correspondent of the APS.

‘' We are proud of the work done in this center for traditional medicine (the city of Fatick). Here, one can say, we are on the right track to combine traditional medicine and modern medicine to the service of our population,', declared Mrs. Dia during the visit.

Two hours earlier in Mbour, the minister presided over the seminar of reinforcement of the capacities for the traditional practitioners.

She stated, ‘the legalization of Traditional Medicine is necessary given that 85% (statistics given by WHO) of our population use traditional medicine as a first recourse for their health care for the numerous illnesses they suffer from''.

‘' It is essential that everyone come and  join in the research for the collaboration and the mechanism of validation of a national charter to regulate traditional medicine '', she added.

For Mrs. Dia, the approach of the centre is "comforting in the idea of the government which believes that health cannot be effective without collaboration between traditional and scientific knowledge. This is why we should gather all the structures of traditional medicine ."

'' It is absolutely necessary to rationalize the sector of traditional medicine '', Mrs. Dia specified.

‘' I am sure that the scientific community, in its entirety, in agreement with all the traditional practitioners, in a participative approach, will forward the duty to work out an efficient and consensual charter of traditional medicine '', said Mrs. Dia.

The president of PROMETRA local chapter, Boury Niang, urged, during the visit, ‘' the State to create a legal framework for dialogue and exchange between the actors of the sector by respecting the roles, competencies and specificities of each actor’’.

‘'We wish to receive help so that we can package traditional medicines and to be able to put them in better conditioning manner. That would help t reassure our population'', Mrs. Niang indicated.

The Minister for scientific Research visited in turn each hut where the  Saltigui work (traditional doctors) in company with the president of PROMETRA  International, Dr. Eric Gbodossou, of the president of the regional Council of Fatick, Abdoulaye Sène, and the governor of the Region of Fatick, Souleymane Ly.