LAHORE:The Pakistan Association of Alternative Medicine (PAAM) has demanded the establishment of an independent federal Ministry of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) to protect patients’ rights and support the country’s alternative medicine industry.
In a statement issued on Monday, PAAM President Kashif Aslam Malik said the alternative medicine sector, including homeopathy, Unani Tibb and nutraceuticals, contributed billions of rupees annually to the national exchequer through regulatory fees, product registrations and licensing charges paid to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and provincial institutions such as the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC).
He claimed that despite having a large number of licensed healthcare professionals and generating substantial revenue for regulatory bodies, the sector was facing “defamation, arbitrary harassment and unscientific raids.” The association stated that the global traditional medicine market was expanding rapidly, with annual growth ranging between 18 and 26 per cent, while growth in the conventional pharmaceutical sector had slowed down.
