RAWALPINDI, June 20: The government plans to introduce a regulatory mechanism in the field of traditional medicine and form a National Advisory Board for the purpose, sources told Dawn here on Thursday.

An official source said: “All forms of traditional medicine — Tibbi, Unani, herbal and homeopathic — will be brought within the ambit of the proposed regulatory framework.”

The source said this very important segment of health care had so far operated unlicensed and unrecognised, and also did not comply with the fundamental service norms and standards.

“The government feels that this important sector needs to be organized to facilitate its growth and enhance its capacity. At the same time, the move will circumscribe indiscriminate practice of traditional medicine by unqualified people,” the source added.

To a question regarding the implementation of the proposed measure, the source said, as a first step, the government planned to form a permanent National Advisory Board which would comprise experts from the fields of pharmacology and pharmacognosy, representatives of the industry, officials of the ministries of health, science and technology, industries and finance and the National Tibb Council. The health ministry representative will head the board.

The board would be entrusted with the task of policy-making and implementing all measures related to strengthening the traditional medicine industry. It would help to establish suitable management and regulatory measures for licensing and certifying the manufacturing units and products.

The board would develop improved standards for making safe, quality medicines to meet national requirement and achieve global competitiveness, ensure supply of quality raw material through cultivation, conservation and sustainable development of medicinal herbs. It would also work for developing appropriate human resources to cater to this sector’s future needs.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt, the ministry of health is in the process of defining and formalizing the qualifications of Hakims and homeopaths to curb quackery in this field of medicine.