3.5
Maldives
The Maldives consist of
1,190 islands covering a total area of 90,000
square kilometers of the Indian Ocean and a population of
about 0.3 million. Only 202 of the islands are
inhabited and there are no problems of space apart from severe
overcrowding in the capital Male. The economy of the
country depends largely on tourism with agriculture playing a
minor role because of limited availability of cultivable land.
There is no distinct forest type on the islands and only
about 3% of the Maldives is covered by forest and
woodland. People use wood and tree products (predominantly
coconut) as raw material for boat and house building,
fuel, food and medicine. The Maldives
government recently stressed the importance of forest cover and
is encouraging tree plantation on the islands.
Traditional
Medicine Systems
Traditional medicine in the
country is known as Dhivehi Beys and has been practised for
generations. The medicine treatise written by Sheikh Hussain of
Seenu Atoll forms the foundation of today’s traditional
medicine system of the Maldives which has been influenced by
Arab, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Persian and
Sri Lankan traditional medicine systems. Practitioners of
traditional medicine in the Maldives are known as hakeems and
are well respected by the village communities. Some of these
hakeems are also well versed in Unani medicine combining ancient
remedies with new drugs for disease treatment (Anonymous,
2003). The Maldives do not regulate herbal medicines.
They are classified as over the counter medicines for self
medication only. No claims may be made by law.
No national pharmacopoeia
or national monographs on herbal medicines exist and none are
being developed. There are no regulatory requirements for
manufacturing and herbal medicines are sold as over the counter
medicines (WHO, 2005).
People depended more on
traditional medicine for their health care prior to the introduction
of western medicine in the 1950s. Rural people still rely on
traditional
(page156)
medicine largely
because of the lack of modern health care facilities. There is
still a good community acceptance of the Divehi Beys in the
Maldives (Anonymous, 2003).
Government
Efforts in Development of Traditional Medicine
Allopathic medicine has
been promoted and encouraged by the Maldives government ever
since its introduction to the country. As a result the country
is among the top medical drug users. There has been little
government support for traditional medicine in the past and in
some cases government regulations are counter productive to the
conservation of plants used in traditional medicine treatments.
In the Maldives, a national policy was issued in 1999.
National laws and regulations for traditional medicines are in the
process of development. The national programme was issued
in 1980. The national office for traditional medicines was
established within the Ministry of Health (WHO, 2005).
In recent years there has
been an attempt to integrate traditional and modern medicine.
The government in its ‘Health for All’ programme
with the WHO has appointed an advisor on traditional medicine at
the Institute of Health Sciences. The ‘Health
Master Plan 1996-2005’ has been implemented and is
working to re-establish traditional medicine in the country.
The plan emphasizes supervision and guidance in the
effective production and use of traditional medicine accepted by
the community while increasing the acceptability of ingredients
needed for traditional treatments (Anonymous, 2003).
The Fifth National
Development Plan emphasizes the need to maintain the role and
utility of traditional medicine in strengthening national capacity in
traditional medicine; standardization of traditional medicine
practices; fostering community acceptance;and maintaining
accessibility to ingredients needed for traditional treatments
(Anonymous,2003).
The country has no school
or university of traditional medicine. In 1973, the
Allied Health Services Centre was established in the Maldives
and was upgraded to the Institute of Health Sciences in 1992.
The Institute works to preserve and promote traditional
medical treatments. In the past the Institute conducted a
traditional medicine course for training personnel in the use of
herbs for preparation of medicines (Anonymous, 2003).
Medicinal
and Aromatic Plant Resources
The Maldives have 500
species of higher plants of which 70 are considered
endemic and more than 300 are used in traditional medicine
practices (Anonymous, 2003). The Maldives have
a well organized policy on conservation of timber plants but there is
no proper form of conservation regarding medicinal plants and
herbs because the latter are considered as weeds and so do not
require much attention despite their uses in traditional medicine.
Some rare and important medicinal plants are still grown in home
gardens.
(page 157)
Plants such as
Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet (Maabula),
Aerva lanata (L.) Juss. ex Schult.
(Hudhuhuiyppilaa), Boerhaavia diffusa Linn.
(Brandha gondi,) and Pedilanthus spp. are
important endemic medicinal plants found in the country, most
of which are collected directly from the forests. However,
the impact of the modern economy and rapidpopulation growth in
recent decades have reduced the natural resources and availability of
the plant species on which Divehi Beys depends, resulting in
decreasing reliance of people on traditional practices
(Anonymous, 2003). Various kinds of spices are
grown and used in food and medicines in the Maldives.
Research
and Development Activities
No detailed documentation
of the local flora has ever been attempted locally
or internationally. Very basic data on crops cultivated in
the country have been recorded with the help of FAO but there is
no data or specimen collection for medicinal and aromatic plants
(Anonymous, 1995). Most of the available documentation
is in the national language, Divehi but it is not widely
available for reference and use.
The United Nations
Development Agency submitted a project entitled Conservation of
medicinal species and traditional knowledge in Addu Atoll, the
Maldives in 2000 which was endorsed in 2001. The
Agency is working with the Environment Section of the Ministry of
Home Affairs, Housing and Environment, national NGOs and
local communities to conserve both the resources upon which
traditional remedies are based and the knowledge base regarding
their preparation and use. There is lack of knowledge regarding
the status and medicinal uses of most of the species which
hampers the conservation of these species. The project
aims to fill the gaps in current knowledge and to establish a
scientifically valid inventory and monitoring system for
medicinal plant resources of the country (Anonymous,
2003). The project is working for the documentation of the
use of traditional medicines and their resources, the
enhancement and understanding of traditional medicine to
highlight the benefits of adopting the traditional medicine system,
enterprise development and commercialization of products
based on them through partnerships with various drug companies.
The project also aims to make appropriate changes at the
government policy level to promote the understanding and use of
traditional medicine, provide support to traditional
healers and incorporate these medicines and healers as an important
component of the health plan. The Maldives have also
sought help from India recently for the identification,
development and protection of its herbal and medicinal plants.
Trade and
Marketing
At present there is no
regulation of imported medicine. Ninety percent of drugs
is imported and distributed by the private sector. The
Ministry of Health regularly updates 158 the essential
drugs list and only drugs on this list can be imported. The
high prices of traditional medicines charged by industry and the
practitioners make them unaffordable to the communities in the
Maldives.
The production of spices
in the Maldives in the period 1998-2000 was only six metric
tonnes. According to the International Trade Centre database
the Maldives import values under the category HS 121190
(plants and parts of the plants including seeds and fruits
used primarily in perfumery, pharmacy or for insecticides etc.
in the fresh or dried forms) for 1997-2001 were
US$38, 39, 56, 64 and 48 respectively.
Problems
and Constraints
A number of factors
including loss of natural habitat due to land utilization
for housing, agriculture and resorts, loss of
traditional knowledge due to the unwillingness of the older
generations to share their knowledge and lack of interest among
younger generations, lack of training institutions,
unsustainable use of resources and the lack of appropriate policy
support from the government are responsible for the absence of
development of traditional medicine and medicinal and aromatic
plant resources in the country.
from
Compendium of
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants- Asia (vol. II) 2006
Compendium of
Medicinal and Aromatic
Plants
ASIA
Sukhdev Swami Handa
Dev Dutt Rakesh
Karan Vasisht
ICS-UNIDO is supported by
the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
) United
Nations Industrial Development Organization and the International
Centre
for Science and High
Technology, 2006
Earth, Environmental
and Marine Sciences and Technologies
ICS-UNIDO, AREA
Science Park
Padriciano 99, 34012
Trieste, Italy
Tel.:
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E-mail:
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References:
Ahmad, I., Mehmood, Z.
and Mohammad, F., 1998, Screening of some Indian medicinal plants for
their antimicrobial properties, Journal of
Ethnopharmacology, 62: 183-193
Anonymous, 1995,
Maldives: Country report to the FAO International Conference on Plant
Genetic Resources
(Leipzig, 1996), Ministry
of Fisheries and Agriculture, Male, p. 18
Anonymous, 2003,
People of Maldives: Traditional medicine. Available
at: www.hellomaldives.com/maldives/people/contents.htm
(30 Jun. 2003)
Anonymous, 2003,
Healthcare system in the Maldives. Available at:
http://www.maldivesmedicalcouncil.gov.
mv/healthservice.htm
(30 Jun. 2003)
Anonymous, 2003,
UNDP Maldives. Available at:
www.mv.undp.org/projects/environment/gef_mpp.htm (30Jun. 2003)
Anonymous, 2003,
Maldives health. Available at:
www.themaldives.com/Maldives/Maldives_health.htm (30
Jun. 2003)
Anonymous, 2003,
MCST: Clearing house-health status of the population.
Available at: www.mcst.gov.mv/
Clearing_House/healthoverall.htm
(30 Jun. 2003)
Anonymous, 2003,
UNDP Maldives: Conservation of medicinal species and
traditional knowledge in Addu Atoll.
Available at: http://www.mv.undp.org/projects/environment/gef_mpp1.htm (30 Jun. 2003)
Available at: http://www.mv.undp.org/projects/environment/gef_mpp1.htm (30 Jun. 2003)
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