TEHRAN – The Ministry of Health plans to use traditional medicine to solve the population crisis, prevent infertility and have a healthy generation, Nafiseh Hosseini Yekta the director of the ministry’s Persian medicine office, has announced.

The national development plans oblige the Ministry of Health to integrate traditional medical services into the health system, which requires the development of Iranian medicine in all areas of education, research, and treatment.

At present, in the field of education, 12 groups and 8 faculties are training specialists in the field of traditional medicine, pharmacy, and medical history, which needs serious expansion, she stated.

The average population growth has decreased in recent years, and this declining trend is a serious warning. In the field of research, using the capacities of Persian traditional medicine, as a native knowledge in the direction of resistance economics, can help the country, she highlighted.

In addition, the Persian traditional medicine is planned to be used as a tool for population growth, as well as infertility treatment and healthy generation, she emphasized.

Iran is experiencing below-replacement fertility — lower than 2.1 children per woman — which indicates that a generation is not producing enough children to replace itself, eventually leading to an outright reduction in population.

According to the population and housing census, the average population growth has decreased in recent years, and this declining trend is a serious warning.

The country’s elderly population is predicted to nearly double over the next 20 years, while this trend will occur in other countries over the next 100 years.

Iranian traditional medicine

Iranian traditional medicine is one of the most ancient forms of traditional medicine. It is grounded in the concept of four senses of humor: phlegm (Balgham), blood (Dam), yellow bile (Safra'), and black bile (Sauda'). The concept of four senses of humor is based on the teachings of Rhazes and Avicenna in an elaborate medical system.

Iranian traditional medicine strongly focuses on prioritizing health maintenance and disease prevention over treatment.

So far, about 30,000 plant species are identified in the world, with Iran's share of about 8,000 species its plant diversity is more than the whole of Europe.

Currently, about 2,300 species of medicinal plants have been identified in the country; while medicinal plants account for one-third of the medicines used in human societies, the share of world trade in these products is about $124 billion and Iran’s share is $570 million, which is only 0.5 percent of the total.

The per capita consumption of medicinal plants in Iran is about one kilogram of dried plants, in other words, 83,000 tons of medicinal plants worth 1.2 trillion rials (around $4 million) are consumed in the country, while in Europe this amount is 900 grams and in the United States is 2.5 kilograms.

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