Standards bodies on the continent have vowed to crackdown on traditional medicine makers and practitioners who do not conform to standards as one of the steps to streamline the industry.

Dr Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), said the standards watchdogs on the continent also seek to harmonise regulations governing traditional medicine in Africa. Bagabe said this will promote quality and safety, and help facilitate regional and international trade in African traditional medicine. He said they will initially focus on terminology, raw material and processed products specifications. He was speaking during a conference attended by about 100 regional standardisation experts in Kigali on Wednesday.

The experts, who are part of the Africa Regional Standardisation Organisation (ARSO), represented 17 countries, including Rwanda, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Botswana, Senegal and South Africa.

The experts discussed 10 African traditional medicine standards that are needed to enhance quality and make traditional medicine more competitive, especially in export markets, he added. A recent study by World Health Organisation (WHO) indicates that 80–90 per cent of people in Africa depend on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare.

The report shows that the demand for herbal medicine is growing at between 10 and 20 per cent annually across the world. And the global trade for herbal medicine is estimated at $83 billion, which according Bagabe, justifies the need to put in place standards that will help boost the quality and competitiveness of the industry.

"We need to agree on the new items and certification schemes to be able to create confidence, increase visibility and accessibility of Africa’s traditional medicines,” Bagabe said.

Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, the ARSO secretary general, said it is critical to ensure traditional medicines are made as per standards to safeguard the industry.

"While in some countries, herbal medicine is subject to rigorous manufacturing standards, this is not so everywhere. In Rwanda, for example, herbal products are sold as "phytomedicine”, and must meet efficacy, safety and quality guidelines as are other drug products,” Dr Nsengimana said.

Rwanda has a Council of Traditional Medicine Practitioners, which is under the Ministry of Health. A final draft policy on local traditional medicines is awaiting approval by health ministry level. It will be the blueprint that will guide practitioners on required standards at the national, regional and international levels.

"The purposed regional standards for African traditional medicine will, therefore enable us to provide scientific information on the safety, efficacy, and quality control, and quality assurance of widely used African medicinal plants to facilitate their appropriate use and trade within the country and member states,” Dr Nsengimana said.

It will also help provide a model to assist African countries in developing their own traditional medicine or formulas for these or other herbal medicines, foster exchange of information among ARSO member states.

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