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According to Burma traditional medical belief
there are 96 diseases which afflict human kind. Using fresh
or dried roots, stems, barks, leaves, buds and flowers of
medicinal plants, and the hair, fat, bones and organs of
certain insects, reptiles and mammals, Burma indigenous
medicine is able to heal and cure all 96 maladies.
Indigenous medicines are
administered as
powders, mixtures, decoctions, infusions, percolates,
pastes, extracts, preserves, pills or tablets. A 1928
government report stated that 90% of the rural, and 69% of
the urban population were solely dependent on indigenous
medical treatment for health needs.
During World War II with its attendant shortage of western
drugs, people took recourse to indigenous drugs.
The Burma Indigenous Medical Practitioner’s Act
was passed in 1953; amendments were made in 1962 and 1987;
and an independent Burma Indigenous Medical Directorate
was set up in 1989 under the Health Ministry.
Today there are 250 township clinics, three in-patient
hospitals, three herbal gardens, two museums, two drug
manufacturing factories, one diploma course school and
nearly 16,000 |
