The 10th International Conference of the Drug Regulatory Authorities (ICDRA), which was organized by the World Health Organization and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, was held 24-27 June 2002 in Hongkong. Herbal medicines were the most important subject in this meeting.

 

Nine recommendations followed :

1. Safe use of herbal medicines is a major concern for the governments and consumers. WHO should provide guidance to support countries to establish safety monitoring systems or to expand existing systems to monitor and report adverse drug reactions. The system should include health care providers, consumers and manufacturers.
2. Member States should strengthen the postmarketing surveillance system of herbal medicines. Particular attention should be given to possible adulteration of herbal medicines by chemicals or other ingredients which have not been labeled.
3. WHO should support countries to develop information resources on medicinal plants with toxic constituents and adverse drug reactions of herbal medicinal products and to facilitate information sharing among the countries.
4. WHO should develop guidelines on the assessment of interaction between herbal and orthodox medicines.
5. WHO medicine and food programmes should support countries to define criteria and standards for herbal medicines, health or functional food and dietary supplements.
6. WHO should continue to develop guidelines on the assessment of safety, efficacy and quality control of herbal medicinal products including herbal formulas.
7. WHO should provide guidance to governments and NGO’s to train traditional medicine providers; to promote the communication between traditional medicine providers and other health workers.
8. WHO should provide guidance to support countries and NGO’s to develop information on the possible risks and side-effects of herbal medicines for the public and consumers and to develop an education programme for consumers how to make the best use of herbal medicines.
9. Member States should increase research funds to support research on herbal medicines, particularly in the field of safety and quality control.

 

Dr.Ren Dequan (SDA, P.R.China) and Dr.Konstantin Keller (EMEA,Germany) were the herbal medicines moderators.