Al-Rabeeah urges research in complementary medicine

Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah has urged researchers to conduct further studies on complementary medicine.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the second Gulf conference for complementary medicine on Sunday.
The three-day meeting has been sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in cooperation with the World Health Organization.
Al-Rabeeah said that the growing interest in complementary medicine has becom a reality in this age. “We are witness to cognitive developments and cultural and scientific progress in this field,” the minister said, stressing that there is need to regulate and support traditional medicine with scientific experience.
Al-Rabeeah pressed for the need to legalize the system noting that the Kingdom strictly follows its “Patients First" policy in its health care programs.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine was established by the Ministry of Health as a national reference for complementary and alternative medicine under Saudi Council of Ministers resolution 236.
The center, which is directly linked to the health minister, seeks the support of a consultative committee of specialists, as well as complementary and alternative medicine experts from outside the Kingdom.
The center lays down principles, criteria and rules to regulate, monitor and inspect complementary and alternative medicine practices, as well as raise awareness across the Kingdom.
Abdullah Al-Baddah, executive director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, said that the conference deals with training standards for complementary medicine. “It aims to increase the knowledge of evidence-based complementary medicine and strengthen such a positive trend.”
According to Al-Baddah, the results of the studies in the different Arabian Gulf countries indicate a continuous rise in the use of complementary and alternative medicine practices.
The Gulf Committee for Alternative and Complementary Medicine was established in recognition of the GCC countries’ emphasis on the importance of regulating complementary and alternative medicine.
Almost 73 percent of the Saudi population currently use complementary and alternative medicine and this figure is expected to grow.