Page 12 - Proceedings of The Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin

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Report of
DR. PRAMOTE STIENRUT
Director, Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine,
for the opening session of
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The 5 Meeting on Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin
5 September 2012
Phoenix Room 5-6, IMPACT Exhibition & Convention Center

Dr. Suphan Srithamma, Director General of the Department for Development
of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand

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On behalf of the Distinguished Delegates of the 5 Meeting on Indigenous
Medicine in the Mekong Basin, invited observers and the organizing committee, we
are honored that you have graciously presided over the opening of the meeting
today.
The Mekong Basin covering half of the ASEAN Member States; namely,
Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, and Yunnan province in the
south of China is very rich in ethnic diversity and biological diversity. Ethnic people
living in this region developed their own forms of indigenous medicine that have
been passed on from generation to generation using herbs and medicinal plants,
different styles of manual therapy, together with rites and rituals to heal diseases or
symptoms and strengthen their body and mind.
Nowadays the advancement of science and technology, the expansion of
medical service to the rural areas and the problems of deforestation have become
the threat to the existence and sustainability of indigenous medicines and folk
healers in this region. Attempts have therefore been made to organize the meetings
of folk healers from countries of the Mekong Basin as a platform to exchange their
knowledge and experience on indigenous medicine practice and medicinal plants
used. The First and Second Meeting on Indigenous Medicine in Mekong Basin were
organized by the School of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Chiangrai Rajabhat
University, Chiangrai province, Thailand, while the Third and the Fourth Meeting
were held in Jinghong and in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China with the cooperation
of Hospital of Traditional Dai Medicine of Xishuang Banna, Chinese Folk Healer
Association, Yunnan University and Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This year, the Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative
Medicine, by the Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine and Bureau of Indigenous
Medicine, in collaboration with the School of Medicine, Mahasarakarm University,
Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital, and Thai Traditional Medical Knowledge Fund
organize “the Fifth Meeting on Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin” during
5-7 September 2012 at IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center. In contrast to
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the previous meetings, the 5 Meeting is aimed to strengthen and step up the
collaboration in indigenous medicine to an international level. Therefore, a total
of 53 top officials from in the national offices responsible for conservation of
indigenous medicine, ethnomedicine researchers as well as experienced folk healers
are invited from the 6 countries of the Mekong Basin to participate in this meeting. It
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is expected that the 5 Meeting will lay the ground for collaborative activities to
conserve indigenous medicine knowledge and promote the sharing of experience
and information among 6 member countries in the future.