Page 60 - Proceedings of The Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin

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(3) Thai indigenous medicine development plan
The Subcommittee for the Development of Thai Indigenous Medicine has
drafted up development strategies between the year 2012 and 2016 to set a
direction and framework to support the development of Thai indigenous medicine.
The development plan for Thai indigenous medicine consists of the following main
points: 1) Knowledge management and establishment of knowledge management
network. 2) Empowering groups and networks of indigenous healers, and 3) Drafting
of relevant regulations as well as the mechanism to support the development of
indigenous medicine. This includes fostering co-operation between public and
private sectors in the work to develop indigenous medicine according to the following
framework

4. Conclusion and Suggestions
Indigenous medicine is part of the health care system for the people. It is still
based on the knowledge accumulated through experience. Holistic care is the heart
and strength of Indigenous medicine. It can be incorporated into daily life as it is
easy to access and cost saving. Therefore, promotion and development of
indigenous medicine is important for Thai health care system. The importance can
be defined as follows:
4.1 Development of Thai Indigenous Medicine data base
4.2 Promote Knowledge Management
4.3 Empowerment of the people and folk healers network
4.4 Development of rules and policies