13 Dec
Vice President U Myint Swe delivered an opening address at the 20th Myanmar Traditional Medicine Practitioners’ Conference in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
Speaking at the event, Vice President U Myint Swe said, the Myanmar Traditional Medicine Practitioners’ Conference has been held annually since 2000, and this year marks the 20th session of the conference.
The discussions at the 19th Myanmar Traditional Medicine Practitioners’ Conference focused on future tasks, which were carried out and progress was made.
Regarding the collective efforts for promoting the manufacturing and efficacy of traditional medicine, traditional medicine manufacturers were given training on the Good Manufacturing Practice for ASEAN traditional medicine and health supplements, calculating potency and the life of traditional medicine, quality control and rules and procedures to follow.
To speed up the research on traditional medicine, as part of efforts for finding new traditional medicines and new healing methods, and to encourage medical ethics among practitioners, the Training Course on Research Methodology and a refresher course on Myanmar traditional Mesotherapy were conducted.
We learned that the Myanmar Traditional Medicine Council, Myanmar Traditional Medicine Advisory Board and Myanmar Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association have been working together to eradicate fake practitioners in the country.
The Myanmar Traditional Medicine Council Law was approved by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw under the 2019 Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 1 on 25 January, 2019, and the Union Government formed the Myanmar Traditional Medicine Council Patrons Group through Notification No. 61/2019 on 8 October, 2019.
We have seen strong evidence that Myanmar traditional medicine has been practiced since the time of Tagaung, Sri Ksetra, and Bagan, and we published the book Milestones of Traditional Medicine in Myanmar in August, 2019 after collecting a record of the hidden history of Myanmar traditional medicine. This achievement can be found as a significant milestone in the history of traditional medicine in Myanmar.
Thanks to the efforts of our traditional medicine practitioners, experts related to traditional medicine, professionals, and the research conducted by monks throughout the long history of Myanmar, our traditional medicine has progressed and evolved into a profession in which our people take pride.
By encouraging and preserving the traditional medicine profession, which is the heritage of the Myanmar people, as well as its potency, and has made the Myanmar people fit, healthy and intelligent throughout our history, the leaders of the country have aided in the emergence and development of a powerful traditional medicine community, in accordance with the current times. Our practitioners, producers, concerned ministries, and our people must work with each other for the sustainable development of traditional medicine.
In accordance with the guidance of the State, the Union Government is making efforts on all fronts to save Myanmar’s traditional healing practices, which are on the brink of extinction, by encouraging experienced and learned practitioners, and working to rediscover traditional treatises and therapies written on ancient palm leaf manuscripts, called ‘Pay parabaik’, which are highly effective traditional healing practices, valuable herbs, highly valuable medicinal plants, and natural herbal and mineral resources of medicinal value. In particular, the Union Government has been encouraging the integration of traditional medicine practitioners, and promoting and gathering information about diverse traditional medicinal professionals from traditional medicine associations, healing practices and effective medicine region-wise.
The Union Government has convened annual conferences and seminars for traditional medicine practitioners from around the country so they can gather in one place and share their knowledge. This kind of fine tradition has continued until today.
Currently, there are sector-wise interconnections and relationships among countries. Myanmar has included the traditional medicine sector, to ensure international-level cooperation. To develop traditional medicine, including treatment methods and research, Myanmar is cooperating with traditional medicine organizations from the ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and Mekong regional countries.
It is also working with Japan, China, India, and Korea on matters related to traditional medicine in the areas of teaching, healing practices and research.
To improve the potency of traditional medicines when they are used for healing at traditional medicine hospitals and clinics, modern machinery has been installed at the Mandalay Traditional Medicine Manufacturing Factory, and the factory’s output has been boosted.
Hence, to implement the Health and Sports Ministry’s objective of enabling every citizen to attain full life expectancy and enjoy longevity of life, and to ensure that every citizen is free from disease, the Traditional Medicine Department has carried out several initiatives, including disseminating knowledge about health, disease prevention, and providing effective treatment for infection at the grassroots level in rural areas.
Meanwhile, the government promotes the standard of Myanmar traditional medicine, which comprises experience and knowledge about our ancestral medicine practitioners and those who wrote treatises on traditional medicine, with the assistance of the Union Government and ministries concerned, to be able to pass it down to future generations without deviating from the original medical philosophy, potency, and professional knowledge. I would like to urge our traditional medicine practitioners, on this special occasion of the 20th Myanmar Traditional Medicine Practitioners’ Conference, to discuss and exchange views with goodwill, wisdom and diligence, aiming to discover and apply the hidden healing practices of the Netkhata naya and Vissadara naya out of the Four Great Nayas, namely Desana naya, Bethistsa naya, Netkhata veda naya and Vissadara naya, to connect with international medical professions, with the aim of developing the Myanmar traditional medicine profession and to promote sufficiency of raw materials for traditional medicine, and to work together to pass down our medicine profession to our future generations.
At this 20th Myanmar Traditional Medicine Practitioners’ Conference, traditional medicine practitioners from different sectors and experts from other organizations, in an all-inclusive manner, will discuss development of Myanmar’s traditional medicine and the development of human resources.
As a conclusion to my speech, I would like to wish you success in implementing these conference objectives as future tasks: to train and produce efficient traditional medicine practitioners who can provide health care services to the people by offering Myanmar traditional medicine remedies; to promote research on traditional medicine, and find safe and effective traditional medicines; to promote cooperation of traditional medicine practitioners with efficient therapies, as part of efforts for expanding health care services to the people at the grass-roots level and to encourage the export of Myanmar traditional medicine throughout the ASEAN economic community, in accordance with international economic policies, and to import effective traditional medicines.
Following his speech, Union Minister for Health and Sports Dr Myint Htwe read out the message from President U Win Myint to the conference and the opening ceremony came to an end.
Afterwards, Vice President U Myint Swe visited the booth of the 20th Traditional Medicine Practitioners Conference.
The opening ceremony was attended by Union Ministers Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe, Nai Thet Lwin, Nay Pyi Taw Council Chairman Dr Myo Aung, Deputy Ministers Maj-Gen Than Htut and Dr Daw Mya Lay Sein, Chairman of the Pyithu Hluttaw Health and Sports Development Committee Dr. San Shwe Win, Chairman of Amyotha HLuttaw Health, Sports and Culture Committee Dr. Zaw Lin Htut, MPs of the Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw, Patrons of the Traditional Medicine Council, permanent secretaries of ministries, directors-general, ambassadors, members of the Traditional Medicine Council, members of the Myanmar Traditional Practitioners’ Association (Central), emeritus professors, members of the Traditional Medicine Technical Advisory Group, the Myanmar Traditional Medicine Industries Association, traditional medicine manufacturers, invited guests and departmental officials.
The conference and seminar were held after the opening ceremony led by Union Minister Dr Myint Htwe.
In the evening, Vice President U Myint Swe attended the dinner held at the Myanmar International Convention Centre-II to celebrate and honor the above conference.—MNA (Translated by GNLM)
