By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Federal Government has commenced the documentation and registration of traditional medicine practitioners nationwide as part of efforts to standardise, regulate and strengthen the sector, which serves a significant portion of Nigeria’s population.
The initiative was disclosed on Tuesday, 20 January, 2026 in Abuja by the Director-General of the Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Prof. Martins Emeje, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
He explained that the move followed the agency’s recognition of the need to properly index traditional medicine practitioners and bring order to an ecosystem he described as largely unregulated.
Emeje spoke shortly after his appointment in December 2025 as Co-Chair of the World Health Organisation’s Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine.
He said the new role would be leveraged to advance traditional medicine practice in Nigeria and across Africa.
According to him, an estimated 80 per cent of Nigerians, more than 160 million people depend on traditional medicine for healthcare, particularly those living in rural areas with limited access to conventional medical services.
However, he noted that despite its widespread use, the sector remained controversial, poorly funded and lacking proper organisation.
He said the absence of a central database had contributed to the chaos within the traditional medicine ecosystem, unlike orthodox healthcare professions where practitioners are easily identifiable through regulatory platforms.
“In my pharmacy profession, I have a number, and when you input that number on the website of the regulatory body, my name will come out, where I work and my current licence,” Emeje said. “Traditional medicine in Nigeria lacks that, and, for the first time in Nigeria, we have started solving that problem.”
He explained that the agency began work on a digital database about eight months ago, capturing information on traditional medicine practitioners, their practices and the products they offer.
After registration on the electronic platform, he said practitioners’ facilities would be physically verified to confirm their location, services and products.
Emeje added that verified practitioners would be issued identification numbers, as the agency would maintain full geographic coordinates of their clinics and places of practice. The long-term goal, he said, was to document practitioners across all 774 local government areas in the country.
He disclosed that a pilot project had already been executed in Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State, noting that the model was now being expanded nationwide.
“That which we have done for that particular local government is what we are cascading to all the local governments in Nigeria,” he said. “By so doing, we will know the number of traditional medical practitioners in Nigeria, the services they provide and where they live and operate. Documentation is the first and most important element of standardisation.”
The NNMDA boss said the pilot programme would be presented to the National Assembly as a proposal and fully implemented once funding was secured.
He added that the initiative aligned with the World Health Organisation’s current strategy, which encourages member states to develop comprehensive databases for traditional medicine practitioners.
Emeje noted that Nigeria was already benefitting from the global agenda due to its active participation at the policy level, stressing that improved coordination could enhance the country’s visibility in the international natural medicine space.
On research funding, he lamented that global investment in traditional medicine research remained below one per cent, despite its dominance as the most patronised form of healthcare worldwide.
“Research funding in the area of traditional medicine is a shame; it is less than one per cent,” he said. “Traditional medicine consumers form the majority of healthcare users globally, yet research investment does not reflect this reality.”
He identified education and standard-setting as critical pillars for advancing the sector, adding that the NNMDA School of Traditional Medicine was working towards accreditation and quality assurance for training programmes.
According to him, the aim was not to replace indigenous knowledge, but to structure, preserve and strengthen it through formal education, research and regulation.
“Traditional practitioners possess deep expertise. The role of the system is to recognise, document and strengthen their knowledge, not undermine it,” Emeje said.
He cited countries such as China and India as examples of nations that had successfully integrated traditional medicine into their healthcare systems through structured education, research and supportive policies.
Emeje said Nigeria was aligning with WHO’s strategic objectives for traditional medicine, including evidence-based practice, strong regulatory frameworks, healthcare integration and international collaboration.
He added that his position at the WHO would enable Nigeria and Africa to play a more active role in global policy discussions, research partnerships and capacity development in the traditional medicine sector.
