The Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) has commenced the development of a national digital registry for traditional medicine practitioners, a move aimed at improving regulation, credibility and global recognition of the sector.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Martins Emeje, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria. He 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.
Emeje said the decision to create a central database followed the agency’s assessment of the widespread use of traditional medicine in Nigeria, noting that an estimated 80 per cent of the population—over 160 million people—depend on it, especially in rural areas with limited access to orthodox healthcare.
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According to him, the absence of proper documentation has made the sector largely unstructured, despite its dominance in healthcare delivery. He explained that the new initiative would introduce order, improve transparency and enhance Nigeria’s visibility in the global natural medicine space.
The NNMDA boss revealed that work on the digital platform began about eight months ago, capturing details of practitioners, their services and the products they offer. He said registered practitioners would undergo verification, including physical inspections of their facilities and confirmation of the nature of their practices.
He added that verified practitioners would be issued unique identification numbers, with the agency maintaining accurate location data for their clinics. The long-term goal, Emeje said, is to cover all 774 local government areas across the country.
A pilot phase has already been completed in Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State, which he said would serve as the template for nationwide implementation. Through this process, the agency hopes to establish reliable data on the number of practitioners, their areas of specialisation and operational locations.
Emeje described documentation as the foundation of standardisation, adding that the pilot programme would be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and eventual funding.
He noted that the project aligns with the World Health Organisation’s strategy to support member countries in building comprehensive databases of traditional medicine practitioners. He added that Nigeria’s active role in global policy discussions had already positioned it to benefit from the renewed international focus on the sector.
On research funding, Emeje expressed concern that less than one per cent of global health research investment is allocated to traditional medicine, despite its extensive use worldwide. He described the disparity as a major setback to generating scientific evidence on the safety and effectiveness of natural medicines.
The director-general also highlighted education and standardisation as key priorities, saying the NNMDA School of Traditional Medicine was working towards accreditation and quality control for its training programmes.
He stressed that the agency’s approach was not to replace indigenous knowledge, but to organise, protect and strengthen it through formal education, research and regulation. He cited countries such as China and India as examples where traditional medicine has been successfully integrated into national healthcare systems.
Emeje said Nigeria was aligning its efforts with WHO’s strategic objectives, including evidence-based practice, strong regulatory systems, healthcare integration and international collaboration. He added that his role at the WHO would help Nigeria and Africa contribute more effectively to global policymaking, research partnerships and capacity building in traditional medicine.
