Health experts and advocates have marked World Health Day by strongly advocating for the integration of traditional medicine and improved maternal healthcare in Nigeria and across Africa.
Themed “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures”, the event was organised by the International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA) in collaboration with UandNature Therapy Clinic under the local banner “My Health, My Right.”
IAWPA’s international director, Prof. Chidi Ehiriodo decried Africa’s high maternal mortality rate, linking it to poor health knowledge and harmful cultural beliefs.
“When you are sick, you are angry. And when you are angry, you cannot promote peace,” he added.
Blessing Oladapo-Amao, CEO of UandNature Therapy Clinic Abuja, advocated for holistic healing, saying, “You can’t treat the body without treating the mind.”
She stressed that many health challenges are tied to mental states like unforgiveness and trauma.
Amao urged Nigerians to reclaim traditional healing knowledge, much of which has been neglected in favour of Western medicine.
“Ironically, the same practices we abandoned are being embraced abroad,” she said.
Secretary of the Association of Integrative Medicine, Prof. Usman Chiroma, called Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) “the medicine of the future,” urging government support for legislation to regulate the practice.
“Our citizens must begin to embrace traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine. It can address conditions beyond the scope of conventional drugs,” he said.
CEO of the Alternative Medical Academy, Dr Joshua Onodugo, praised countries like China and India for preserving traditional practices and encouraged similar integration in Africa.
The event ended with the induction of new Eminent Peace Ambassadors and a call for inclusive health policies recognising traditional medicine.
World Health Day is observed annually on April 7 to raise awareness about global health challenges.
