National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the Ministry of Health (MOH) has issued the first issue of “Tebt”, a quarterly scientific awareness magazine.
It is concerned with identifying the complementary and alternative medicine, providing scientific reliable information and publishing researches, articles and scientific studies, as well as linking those interested in it in terms of physicians, practitioners, patients, families and all society members. The editor in chief of the magazine is Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammad Al-Baddah, the NCCAM Executive Director.
The first issue has shed the light on the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) since it was a mere idea in 1423 and until it has been established by virtue of the cabinet’s resolution No. 326, dated on 11/8/2008 (corresponding to 10/08/1429 H), which stipulated that the center be the national reference with regard to all the activities of complementary and alternative medicine in the Kingdom, addressing the vision, mission and strategy of the Center, in addition to its jobs and national goals.
Moreover, the first issue comprises several press statements, scientific studies and articles prepared by a constellation of experts and researchers on the complementary and alternative medicine.
In a press release, at the headquarters of the magazine, NCCAM’s Executive Director, Dr. Abdullah Al-Baddah, has pointed out that the complementary and alternative medicine is defined as a wide range of medical and health care systems, practices and products that do not exist in the modern medicine.
Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) defined it as the outcome of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences rooted in the different cultures, whether inexplicable or not, and used for maintaining health, preventing diagnosing and treating the organic, psychological or mental diseases.
Further, Dr. Al-Baddah noted that NCCAM is working- currently - on developing its own definition in concordance with the medical and cultural legacy of the kingdom.
Within the same vein, Dr. Al-Baddah stated that there are several challenges encountering the Center, mainly the lack of scientific evidence proving the efficiency of some alternative and complementary medicine treatments, a rational and safe use for them and rationing drugs and herbal concoctions.
Besides, there are challenges such as enumerating the practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine in the Kingdom; hence restricting such practices, and the chaos such practices are fraught with, and eliminating all forms and practices of sorcery and charlatanism associated with them.
In addition, he pointed out that controlling, regulating and monitoring the incoming and local practices of complementary and alternative medicine requires the cooperation of all.
Concluding, Dr. Al-Baddah made clear that the Center is planning to set regulations and procedures for a number of practices, so as to ensure their effectiveness and safety, as well as working on integrating some of these complementary and alternative medicine practices based on evidence and proof into the basic health care services.
Moreover, He went on adding that the Center also began to spread health awareness programs aiming at raising the health awareness of complementary and alternative medicine, together with encouraging the integration of alternative medicine practices learning into the medicine teaching curricula in the Kingdom.