Nigeria’s Traditional Medicine Enters a New Era: Why the 2025 Strategic Plan and Code of Ethics Matter

 

Nigeria has taken an important step toward reshaping the future of traditional medicine with the unveiling of a Strategic Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Traditional Medicine Policy and a Code of Ethics and Practice for Traditional Medicine Practitioners in 2025.

The two documents were unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare during the commemoration of the 2025 African Traditional Medicine Day in Abuja. The government described the documents as roadmaps for strengthening traditional medicine through standardization, safety, quality assurance and evidence-based practice.

For a country where traditional medicine has been part of community healthcare and cultural heritage for generations, the development represents more than another government policy announcement. It could mark a significant transition from a largely informal and diverse system of indigenous healthcare toward one that is increasingly documented, regulated, researched and integrated into the wider health system.

Why This Development Matters

Traditional medicine remains an important component of healthcare in many Nigerian communities. Indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants, preparations, therapeutic practices and other forms of traditional healthcare has been passed from one generation to another.

However, the popularity of traditional medicine also creates an important responsibility: how can valuable indigenous knowledge be preserved and promoted while ensuring that patients are protected from unsafe, ineffective or unethical practices?

This is where the Federal Government's new direction becomes particularly significant.

The Ministry has emphasized that traditional medicine should not simply be accepted because it is traditional. Instead, practices and products should increasingly be subjected to appropriate documentation, research, quality control and scientific evaluation.

During the 2025 unveiling, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described evidence as the bridge between belief and policy and said the government's objective is to document, standardize and integrate evidence-based traditional medicine into Nigeria's national health system.

That message has important implications for practitioners, researchers, manufacturers, regulators and the millions of Nigerians who use traditional and herbal remedies.

From Traditional Knowledge to Evidence-Based Practice

One of the most important themes in the new policy direction is evidence.

For traditional medicine to gain stronger recognition within a modern health system, there must be reliable information about what works, how it works, how it should be prepared, the appropriate dosage, possible side effects and potential interactions with conventional medicines.

This does not mean that indigenous knowledge has no value until it is studied in a laboratory. Rather, scientific research can provide a mechanism for identifying promising traditional practices, improving their safety and determining where they may have genuine therapeutic value.

Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare already identifies traditional medicine integration as an area of research, particularly in relation to the safety, efficacy, standardization and regulation of traditional medicine practices.

The challenge now is to translate this policy ambition into sustained research and practical implementation.

Standardization: A Major Step Forward

Standardization is another central issue.

Traditional medicine is often practiced in highly diverse ways. Different practitioners may use different plants, preparation methods, quantities and treatment approaches for similar conditions.

Such diversity can make it difficult to establish consistent quality and safety.

Standardization can help address this problem by encouraging clearer specifications for medicinal plants, preparation methods, product quality, storage, labelling, dosage and other relevant aspects of practice.

The Federal Ministry's traditional medicine programme already includes objectives relating to standardized traditional medicine facilities and collaboration with regulatory bodies such as NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria on the assessment and development of standards for Nigerian herbs.

This could ultimately help consumers distinguish between properly developed traditional medicine products and products whose quality, ingredients or claims are uncertain.

Safety Must Come First

The fact that something is natural does not automatically mean that it is safe.

Some medicinal plants can contain biologically active compounds capable of producing therapeutic effects, but those same compounds may also cause adverse effects when improperly prepared, excessively consumed or combined with other medicines.

This is why safety monitoring is essential.

The new policy direction places traditional medicine within a framework where practitioners and producers are expected to pay greater attention to patient safety, professional conduct and quality assurance.

For patients, this is potentially one of the most important benefits of stronger regulation.

A safer traditional medicine environment should provide greater protection against practices such as inappropriate treatment, contamination, incorrect preparation, misleading health claims and delays in seeking necessary medical care.

The Code of Ethics and Practice

The Code of Ethics and Practice for Traditional Medicine Practitioners is particularly important because regulation is not only about medicines and products. It is also about people.

Traditional medicine practitioners occupy positions of trust in many communities. Patients may disclose personal information, follow treatment recommendations and sometimes place significant decisions about their health in the hands of practitioners.

A professional ethical framework can therefore help establish expectations around competence, honesty, confidentiality, patient welfare, informed decision-making and responsible practice.

The code should also help distinguish responsible practitioners from individuals who exploit public confidence in traditional medicine.

Professionalism will be increasingly important as traditional medicine moves closer to formal healthcare structures.

Protecting Indigenous Knowledge

There is another dimension that should not be overlooked: Nigeria's traditional medical knowledge is an important cultural and intellectual resource.

Traditional healers and local communities have accumulated knowledge about medicinal plants and therapeutic practices over generations.

As research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and investors become increasingly interested in phytomedicine, mechanisms must be developed to ensure that indigenous communities are not excluded from the benefits generated from their knowledge.

The Federal Ministry has specifically identified protection of traditional medicine knowledge and intellectual property as part of its TCAM responsibilities. It also highlights the need for appropriate legislation and collaboration with relevant government agencies to protect traditional knowledge.

This is critical.

Scientific validation should not become a pathway through which communities lose ownership, recognition or potential economic benefits from their traditional knowledge.

The Nigerian Herbal Pharmacopoeia

Nigeria is also building an important knowledge base through the Nigerian Herbal Pharmacopoeia, which the Ministry says documents more than 200 medicinal plants and their uses.

Such documentation can provide an important foundation for research, quality control, education and product development.

A properly documented national herbal resource can help researchers identify plants for further investigation while providing a common reference point for practitioners, regulators and manufacturers.

It can also contribute to the preservation of indigenous knowledge at a time when some traditional knowledge systems face the risk of disappearing as older practitioners pass away.

Traditional Medicine and Modern Medicine Should Not Be Enemies

Perhaps one of the most constructive aspects of Nigeria's current policy direction is the recognition that traditional and conventional medicine do not necessarily have to exist as opposing systems.

The Federal Ministry has stated that traditional medicine and modern medicine can be allies rather than rivals.

The objective should therefore be responsible integration where appropriate.

A patient using traditional medicine should not be discouraged from seeking hospital care when necessary. Likewise, healthcare professionals should be able to obtain reliable information about traditional medicines that their patients may be using.

Better communication between traditional medicine practitioners, doctors, pharmacists, researchers and other healthcare professionals could reduce risks and improve continuity of care.

The Economic Opportunity

The new traditional medicine strategy is not only about healthcare.

Nigeria has enormous biodiversity and a long history of medicinal plant use. Developing this sector responsibly could create opportunities in research, agriculture, phytomedicine manufacturing, laboratory services, education, employment and local pharmaceutical production.

The Federal Government has already connected its phytomedicine initiative with universal health coverage, economic diversification, employment and wealth creation. In May 2025, the Ministry announced the inauguration of a committee focused on developing the phytomedicine value chain and integrating traditional and modern medicine.

This means traditional medicine could become part of a broader Nigerian industrial strategy.

Instead of exporting raw medicinal plants or allowing valuable indigenous knowledge to remain commercially underdeveloped, Nigeria has an opportunity to develop standardized, scientifically evaluated products locally.

What the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan Could Mean for Practitioners

The Ministry's official TCAM policy portal identifies a Strategic Plan for Implementation of the Traditional Medicine Policy for Nigeria, 2025–2029.

For traditional medicine practitioners, implementation could mean a gradual shift toward greater professional accountability.

Practitioners may increasingly be expected to:

• Maintain appropriate professional standards.
• Follow ethical principles when dealing with patients.
• Improve their knowledge and skills.
• Participate in appropriate registration and regulatory processes.
• Provide safer and more transparent services.
• Avoid unsupported or misleading medical claims.
• Cooperate with research and quality-assurance initiatives where appropriate.
• Recognize situations requiring referral to conventional healthcare services.

This transition may not happen overnight. Nigeria has a large and diverse traditional medicine sector, and implementation will require sustained engagement with practitioners and communities.

The Role of State Governments

Implementation cannot be left entirely at the federal level.

The Federal Ministry has called for all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to establish TCAM departments or boards in line with resolutions of the National Council on Health.

This is important because much of traditional medicine practice occurs at community and state levels.

A national policy will have limited impact if there are no effective structures at the state and local levels to educate practitioners, register appropriate services, monitor standards and provide consumers with reliable information.

Successful implementation will therefore require cooperation among federal and state authorities, traditional medicine practitioners, universities, research institutes, regulatory agencies, healthcare professionals and communities.

What Patients Should Look For

As Nigeria's traditional medicine sector becomes more regulated, consumers also have an important role to play.

People seeking traditional or herbal healthcare should consider asking questions about the practitioner, the product, the ingredients, the recommended use and possible risks.

Consumers should be especially cautious about products that promise to cure virtually every disease, claim immediate results or discourage patients from seeking conventional medical attention when necessary.

A responsible traditional medicine system should not depend on exaggerated promises.

Its credibility should increasingly come from quality, transparency, professional conduct and evidence.

A New Chapter for Nigerian Traditional Medicine

The unveiling of the Strategic Plan of Action and Code of Ethics and Practice in 2025 represents an important moment in Nigeria's continuing effort to strengthen traditional medicine.

The real test, however, will not be the publication of the documents. It will be their implementation.

Will practitioners receive adequate training?

Will registration and professional standards be effectively enforced?

Will traditional medicines undergo appropriate safety and quality assessment?

Will research institutions receive the resources needed to investigate promising indigenous therapies?

Will local communities benefit from the commercialization of their traditional knowledge?

And, most importantly, will patients become safer and better informed?

These are the questions that will determine the long-term success of the policy.

Nigeria has an opportunity to build a traditional medicine system that respects indigenous knowledge while embracing modern standards of research, safety and quality.

The goal should not be to erase tradition in the name of science, nor to reject science in the name of tradition.

The opportunity is to bring the strengths of both together.

If implemented transparently and consistently, Nigeria's 2025–2029 traditional medicine strategy could help transform traditional medicine from an often fragmented healthcare practice into a more organized, accountable and evidence-informed component of the country's health system.

For practitioners, it is a call to professionalism.

For researchers, it is a call to investigate.

For policymakers, it is a call to regulate fairly and effectively.

For industry, it is an opportunity to innovate responsibly.

And for patients, it is ultimately a promise that traditional medicine should increasingly be associated not merely with tradition, but with safety, quality, accountability and evidence.

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