As every year, Senegal celebrated African Traditional Medicine Day this Sunday, August 31, 2025, at the National Health Education and Information Service (SNEIPS), under the theme: "Strengthening the evidence base on traditional medicine." This occasion allowed health authorities to reaffirm their commitment to regulating and promoting this ancestral practice, essential for 80% of Africans who use it for their care, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In Senegal, despite its central role, traditional medicine struggles to integrate into modern medicine due to anarchic practices and misleading advertising on social networks and in the media.

Towards rigorous regulation of traditional medicine

In his speech, the Director General of Health acknowledged that, although many local medicinal plants have pharmacological properties validated by scientific studies, their integration into modern medical preparations remains limited, partly due to the lack of a clear regulatory framework. He announced the Ministry of Health's commitment to promoting quality traditional medicine that meets safety standards. "The Government of Senegal is firmly committed to providing the country with an appropriate legal and regulatory framework to enable traditional practitioners to treat populations safely. Following the adoption of Law No. 2003-06 of June 13, 2023, establishing the Senegalese Pharmacopoeia, two draft laws will soon be adopted: one will facilitate the marketing authorization of herbal medicines, and the other will define penalties for the inappropriate use of polytherapeutic herbs," he said.

A call for regulation and responsibility

The president of the National Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners, Pape Sandiane Ndiaye, denounced the abuses that compromise public health and urged his peers to support regulatory efforts to preserve the credibility of their profession. He revealed that a recent meeting with media bosses, organized in a Dakar hotel, aimed to encourage them to stop broadcasting misleading advertisements touting unverified miracle treatments. For his part, Professor Emmanuel Bassène, president of the traditional medicine unit at the Ministry of Health, affirmed that Senegal has experts capable of developing a national pharmacopoeia. He advocated for synergy between all stakeholders to make traditional medicine a pillar of the country's health sovereignty.