23 May 2002
South Africa Health Minister and Vice-Minister for Health from the People's Republic of China have committed their respective countries to work together in developing herbal medicine and regulation of traditional medicine.
The commitment was made during a four-day visit of a high-level Chinese health delegation to South Africa which ended yesterday (from 19-22 May). The delegation was led by Vice-Minister, She Jing (Mrs) and included senior officials from the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The purpose of the visit was to gain a better understanding of South Africa's health system and policies and to discuss possible cooperation in developing herbal medicines for treatment of AIDS related illnesses as well as regulation of traditional medicine.
During an interaction with the delegation, SA Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang expressed much interest in pursuing co-operation with China around the development of traditional medicine.
"This co-operation will be of much importance to us as we establish a formal regulatory framework for traditional and complementary medicine in South Africa. China has a long history in promoting the role of this important aspect of health care and we will be drawing lessons from those experiences," said Minister Tshabalala-Msimang.
Vice-Minister She Jing formally extended an invitation to Minister Tshabalala-Msimang and South Africa to participate in a China-African Forum on Traditional Medicine to be held in Beijing, China in October this year.
The visit of the Chinese delegation to South Africa marked a first major step in the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by the two countries during the year 2000.
The delegation had discussion with officials from the Department of Health and medical academics and visited Medunsa University and Garankuwa Hospital north of Pretoria. The delegation also interacted with private organisations involved in the area of traditional medicine.
Issued by the Ministry of Health
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