Page 8 - Proceedings of The Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin

2

The Fifth Meeting on Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin
5-7 September 2012
Phoenix Room 5 & 6, IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center
Nonthaburi, Thailand

1. BACKGROUND
Countries of the Mekong Basin; namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar,
Thailand, Vietnam, and southern province of China, are home to many ethnic groups
of people. One of the most valuable indigenous knowledge of ethnic people in this
region is ethno-medicine knowledge passed down from generation to generation of
folk healers constituting valuable indigenous medicine of each country. Though
indigenous medicine is not integrated as a part of health service system, the role of
indigenous medicine in the healthcare of ethnic people and the potential of this
traditional medical knowledge for future research on new herbal medicines is well
recognized by the Ministry of Health of every country.
With such awareness, attempts have therefore been made to organize the
meetings of folk healers from countries of Mekong Basin as a platform to exchange
their knowledge and experience on indigenous medicine practice and medicinal
plants used and to form a network of folk healers from the six countries involved.
The First and Second Meeting on Indigenous Medicine in Mekong Basin was
initiated by the School of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Chiangrai Rajabhat
University, Chiangrai province, Thailand, while the Third and Fourth Meeting were
held in Jinghong and Kunming in Yunnan Province, China, respectively.
In 2012, the Fifth Meeting was hosted by the Department for Development of
Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM), Thailand Ministry of Public Health,
in collaboration with Thai Traditional Medical Knowledge Fund, School of Medicine,
Mahasarakarm University, Mahasarakarm province and Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr
Hospital, Prachinburi province.

2. OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this Meeting was to set the stage for the network of folk
healers to share their knowledge and for the government officerswho are involved
with the conservation of indigenous medicine and the practice of folk healersto
strengthen and step up this area of collaboration to the international level.

3. ORGANIZERS
The meeting was organized with the cooperation of the following offices: -
1) Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine, Department for Development of Thai
Traditional & Alternative Medicine (DTAM), Ministry of Public Health
2) Bureau of Thai Indigenous Medicine, DTAM, Ministry of Public Health
3) School of Medicine, Mahasarakham University, Mahasarakarm province
4) Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital, Prachinburi province

4. PARTICIPANTS
Delegates working as the government officers or folk healers from the
countries of the Mekong Basin; namely, Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao
PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, were invited to participate this meeting.