Homeopathy underutilised abroad for lack of regulatory provisions: Minister
By TIOL News Service
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NEW DELHI, FEB 24, 2017: THE MoS for AYUSH, Mr Shripad Yesso Naik, yesterday inaugurated the World Integrated Medicine Forum on Regulation of Homeopathic Medicinal Products: National and Global strategies in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that in India, Homoeopathy has been well institutionalized and we have 235 homoeopathic hospitals and more than 8000 clinics in public sector. He said that most of production plants in India are GMP-compliant and adhere to policies related to quality, packaging and distribution. He further said that all these manufacturing units are bound by Drugs & Cosmetics inspections.
In his inaugural address, Mr Naik remarked that there is clearly a need for a high-level strategic exchange platform, where stakeholders can meet outside their immediate work related context and this forum could address that need. In the other countries Homeopathy remains largely under-utilized due to lack of availability of homoeopathic medicines or stringent or non-existent regulatory provisions for these medicines, the Minister added.
Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Mr Ajit M. Sharan also expressed his happiness that the Ministry, through CCRH, could demonstrate global leadership by hosting this unique event. Director General, CCRH, Dr. Raj K. Manchanda, hoped that this forum could provide impetus to further dialogues for strengthening regulatory framework worldwide, to assure that the users of Homoeopathy could have wider access to quality-assured homoeopathic medicines. Dr. Robbert van Haselen, Director of the WIMF and also the international consultant for the forum, thanked the Government of India for spearheading this challenging task of bringing together the regulators and homeopathic industrialists from so many countries on a common platform to exchange their concerns and issues.
On this occasion an MoU was also signed between Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States (HPCUS) and Indian bodies – Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) and Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) on cooperation in the field of Homoeopathic Medicine. It is hoped that this agreement will be a benchmark for many more agreements to follow with the aim to develop and harmonise homoeopathic pharmacopoeias and to strengthen regulatory provisions for homoeopathy in the whole world.
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