President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated that an institute needs to be established in Maldives in order to further develop and progress alternative medicine as well as traditional medicine.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the National Symposium on Traditional and Alternative Medicine today, the President said that, alternative and traditional medicine is as integral as conventional modern medicine and that it is a part of a holistic health sector.

The President also highlighted that it is due to this very reason that employment in traditional medicine should be established officially as a profession. “We cannot leave the job of traditional medicine in the hands of unprofessional people. Medicine should be undertaken by the learned” he said.

The President noted that, the current number of practicing traditional medicine professionals is not small. He also stated that there are currently 5 traditional Arab-Islamic Medicine (Hakimi Beys) practitioners, 19 alternative medicine practitioners and 59 Maldivian traditional medicine practitioners that are registered.