The Federal Government has begun the documentation and registration of traditional medicine practitioners to standardise, regulate and strengthen the sector.

The Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) DirectorGeneral Martins Emeje said this in Abuja yesterday following his appointment as co-chair, WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (STAG-TM) in December 2025.

Speaking on how he intended to leverage the position to advance traditional medicine practice in Nigeria and Africa, Emeje said the agency had recognised the need to index traditional medicine practitioners in the country.

He said about 80 per cent of Nigerians, estimated at over 160 million people, relied on traditional medicine, particularly those in rural communities who lack access to conventional healthcare. According to him, it will bring sanity in the ecosystem, credibility and create more visibility for the country’s natural medicine in the global space.