Protecting Indigenous Rights

[Guest guest]

The attached article reflects the efforts being undertaken in Nigeria to

protect the rights of local populations.

Herbal interventions in very many cases may be the only available

intervention to alleviate a variety of diseases in many areas. While

unscrupulous purveyors may make outrageous claims about their efficacy,

this does not obviate the fact that many herbal interventions may help

alleviate symptoms, may be curative of some infections (parasitic or

otherwise) and, to a certain degree may offset pharmaceutical drug

toxicities when the drugs are available. Indeed, a great number of drugs

owe their existence to discoveries of the chemical constituents of many

herbs (e.g., vincristine from the periwinkle).

In order for the many global traditions, such as Ayurveda and Siddhi, to

avoid being raped of their products by companies in the west, understanding

international patent law must be undertaken locally. ly, it's my view

that NO patents should be necessary--patenting drugs and herbs is an error

of public policy in my view. Be that as it may, options to protect local

populations right to access to healthcare must be upheld. And the

environment in which these plants are found must be preserved.

M.

*******************************************************************

'Health-L [Zambia]' is an independent national forum supported by

the Fondation du Present http://www.fdp.org

*******************************************************************

Vanguard (Lagos)

August 25, 2001

Posted to the web August 27, 2001

Emma Ujah

Abuja

The governments of the West African sub-region are now reacting positively

to the helpless position of traditional medicine as they are recognising

its important position in healthcare system.

The president-general of the Nigerian Association of Medical Herbalists

(BAMH), Chief Dr. Felix O. Esho made this declaration in a paper he

presented at five day workshop in Jos by members from ECOWAS countries

recently.

He explained that this has made the practitioners of traditional medicine

to be aware of their Patent Rights which had made them proud of their

profession. The workshop, seized the forum to discuss the preserved

knowledge, his bi-resources and the association's right to compensation

under the international law of Patents Rights Act.

According to him, Nigeria had been battling with the issue of Patent Rights

as far back as 1960. Few years ago; the Nigerian Artistes staged protest

rallies against piracy of their works but regretted that practitioners of

traditional were not in that consideration.

Dr. Esho lamented that " without proper legislation to back up our rights,

little could be achieved, " hence " we need our profession to be given

adequate protection under the existing constitution of the country. "

If these objectives are achieved the different countries would stand to

gain tremendously from our health care resources, " he remarked.

Dr. Esho stated that in the past the preserved acquired knowledge and

Bio-Resources of the association had been innocently or deliberately

exploited by most expatriates, missionaries, pharmaceutical companies and

some foreign International Bio-Resources Organisations.

According to him, these organised communities employed different methods;

the use of money and the provisions of comfortable lodging in plush hotels,

overseas tours and bogus certificates of participation are among the

devices created for attracting the associations.

Dr. Esho disclosed that many of their members had been approached by

scientists who are agent of pharmaceutical companies who award contracts to

herbs sellers to supply bio-resources .

He cited an example of how he was approached by a professor friend at the

Lagos State Teaching Hospital about a cure for stomach ulcer.

" What I only got was a column in the acknowledgment note which read thus:

" all our thanks go to Chief E.O. Esho, the traditional medical practitioner

who passed on his experience to us about the traditional use of this

natural medicine which he took pains to collect the bark whenever needed. "

" I was not recognised as a doctor, even though they sent six ulcer patients

to me during the time which I cured and they were other occasional serious

cases yet I am not a doctor perhaps a miracle worker, " he remarked.

It is on record, Dr. Esho stated, that the information for the diseases

like asthma, sickle cell, mental disorder and many more were extracted from

our fathers but without my reference to most of them or equitable

compensation paid to them.

---------------------------------------------------

- A cross posting from health-l@...

___________________________________________________