Opening Ceremony Of The Inaugural International Congress On Complementary And Alternative Medicines 2005

26 Feb 2005

By Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister Of State For Information, Communications And The Arts and Health

Venue: Raffles City Convention Centre

A/Prof Yong Eu Leong, Chairman, Organising Committee

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and gentlemen

I am happy to join you this evening at the inaugural International Congress on Complementary and Alternative Medicines 2005. The interesting Congress theme of "Herbal Medicines: Ancient Cures, Modern Science" certainly underscores the challenges faced by researchers, regulators and educators of traditional and complementary medicines today.

Research in Traditional & Complementary Medicine

Let me start with the challenge of traditional and complementary medicines to researchers. While Western medicine is based on science, traditional and complementary medicines have additional basis such as philosophy and the arts. And therein lies the greatest challenge to researchers of traditional and complementary medicines. However, your presence here today is a living proof that more and more researchers are braving the challenge to explore the boundaries of traditional and complementary medicine therapies, and that the research is also getting more and more scientific.

Take the area of acupuncture. A Medline search of 'double-blind' trials on acupuncture today would easily generate a list of over a hundred such trials. WHO's Second Consultation Meeting on Traditional and Modern Medicine  held in Korea in 2003 carried out a review on acupuncture and found that of the few thousand published clinical trials on acupuncture, several hundreds are fairly well randomized and placebo-controlled.

Since WHO published a list of conditions that can be treated with acupuncture in 1979,  the US National Institute of Health (NIH) has published a consensus statement on acupuncture in 1997  and the UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) also published a review on the efficacy of acupuncture in 2001 . These reviews have guided researchers to focus on the effectiveness of acupuncture in the areas of pain control and the management and rehabilitation of certain chronic conditions like stroke and arthritis.

I am heartened to see the range and quality of the papers and reports, and the diversity of the background and nationality of the speakers and presenters at this Congress. I have no doubt that a Congress like this will certainly help to sharpen further the focus of future research in the relevant areas of traditional and complementary medicines.

Regulation of Traditional & Complementary Medicine

The second area of challenge is the regulation of traditional and complementary medicine products and practices. Regulators of Western medicine find the regulation of traditional and complementary medicine challenging as we have little domain knowledge in these areas.

Singapore is fortunate as the statutory registration for our traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners has been fairly smooth. The registration of acupuncturists and TCM physicians was started in 2001 and 2002 respectively, and effective 1 January 2004, those who wish to practise TCM in Singapore are required by law to register with the TCM Practitioners Board and possess valid practising certificates.

The regulation of botanical medicines and herbal products is equally challenging. In a recent Forum for Harmonization of Herbal Medicine in September 2004, the regulatory bodies represented at the Forum, including China's SFDA, accepted that strict Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are important and necessary for the cultivation and production of herbal products. This will pave the way for more accurate characterisation, standardisation and the eventual harmonization of herbal products and botanical medicines.

Traditional & Complementary Medicine in a Western Hospital

The third area of challenge is the provision of traditional and complementary medical services in a Western style hospital. Recently Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital opened a TCM clinic at the Hospital. This is a new development and appears to be popular with both the staff and patients. The experience gained by Ang Mo Kio Hospital in running a TCM clinic will be useful for other hospitals that want to provide similar services.

Conclusion

I wish to congratulate the Congress Organising Committee for putting together an impressive and comprehensive scientific programme.

On that note, it leaves me now to declare open the inaugural International Congress on Complementary and Alternative Medicines 2005. I wish you every success, as you endeavour to explore these ancient cures using modern science, for the betterment of the health of all peoples.

Thank you.