The House of Representatives on Tuesday called for funding to develop traditional medicine for its role in disease management.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion filed by Rep. Bashiru Dawodu (APC-Lagos).
It urged the Federal Government to fund the National Institute for Research and Development to develop traditional medicines.
In his motion, the lawmaker noted that herbal-based medicines played significant roles in disease management in Africa and were widely used as alternative medicines.
He stated that scientists had tried to find a cure for COVID-19, and that research in traditional and orthodox medicine as a potential therapy for the virus, had been prevented from being made public.
He noted that there had been several declarations as regards herbal remedies for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, but such claims were difficult to verify because of lack of documented evidence.
Dawodu added that researching into traditional medicines had a huge potential for health and socio-economic development of Nigeria and of Africa.
He expressed concerns that no herbal remedy had been validated for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 even as it kept infecting Africans.
The House consequently urged NAFDAC to explore more possibilities in traditional medicine. (NAN)
