Sunday Times 2
Int’l symposium on traditional and complementary medicine, educational exhibition and trade fair
View(s):A three-day International Symposium on Traditional and Complementary Medicine, Educational Exhibition and Trade Fair, ‘TradMed International 2017 – Sri Lanka’ organised by the Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Ministry in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Sri Jayewardenepura University will be held on November 23, 24 and 25 at the Water’s Edge Hotel.
From left Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne; Sri Jayewardenepura University Vice Chancellor Prof. Sampath Amaratunge; and Co-Chair TradMed International 2017 and Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Innovations in Biotechnology and Neurosciences Prof. Ranil de Silva when the event was announced recently.
The event will be graced by President Maithripala Sirisena and Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne.With the theme being ‘Exploring wellness: A journey begins with a single step’, ‘TradMed International’ Co-Chair Prof. Ranil de Silva says that the aim is to bring Sri Lanka’s 3,000-year-old indigenous health system which seems to be gradually losing its identity to the forefront by introducing evidence-based integrated medicine that will result in new products, innovation and services.
Linking traditional medicine, medical sciences and basic sciences to provide a holistic approach to health and wellness is the aim, in the light of more than 80% of the world’s population depending on traditional and plant-derived medicine. It would also help uplift the Sri Lankan economy, according to Prof. de Silva.
TradMed’s objective is to “share the expertise and novelties in evidence-based practices of traditional medicine in disease prevention, diagnosis and management; to develop safe, effective, quality and standardized products using modern science and technology, as well as diagnostic tools and bio-medical information systems, while instrumentalizing science through private-public partnerships and novel product development,” he says.
Pointing out that Sri Lanka has a unique biota of plants of which 12% are endemic, Prof. de Silva says many of these plants are being used as raw material for various concoctions and drug preparations in traditional medicine. However, less than 1% of these plants have been evaluated scientifically for their medicinal properties and few have reached the product-development stage. As such TradMed International is timely in tapping into this goldmine, opening a pathway for novel product-development through value addition.
More than 40 eminent international speakers, entrepreneurs and business investors from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Netherlands, Iran, Nigeria and Thailand are due to attend the conference with over 300 abstracts being presented.The highlights will be the signing of the Colombo Declaration by the Health Ministers of the region, making a commitment to implement the evidentiary outcomes of the symposium, strengthening private-public partnerships and academic collaborations among the countries and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Ministry and Ministry of AYUSH, India.
The trade fair, meanwhile, will showcase 120 stalls, while facilitating Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Academic (B2A) interactions.
A pre-symposium workshop on ‘Bridging Biotechnology and Traditional Medicine – A Multidisciplinary Approach’ will be held on November 22 at the Sri Jayewardenepura University.For more information, please access http://www.tradmedinternational.com/ or contact Prof. Ranil de Silva on Phone: 011-2758697 or e-mail: ranil@sjp.ac.lk