Page 6 - NIH Bulletin Vol. 21: January - June 2023 NIH Way Forward

Vol : 21 • January - Jun 2023 •

Malaysia’s Health Minister Dr. Zaliha Mustafa launched the world’s first traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) research
framework together with a herbal medicinal research guideline on April 14, 2023, at National Institutes of Health Malaysia (NIH)
MALAYSIA’S HEALTH MINISTRY LAUNCHES THE WORLD’S
MALAYSIA’S HEALTH MINISTRY LAUNCHES THE WORLD’S
FIRST TRADITIONAL AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
FIRST TRADITIONAL AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK TOGETHER WITH A HERBAL
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK TOGETHER WITH A HERBAL
MEDICINAL RESEARCH GUIDELINE
MEDICINAL RESEARCH GUIDELINE
• • • • • •
Dr. Sujatha Suthandiram

The Ministry of Health mentioned that the methodologies with traditional medicine principles
traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) and theories,” she added.
research framework and the herbal medicinal
research guideline could lead to more research The T&CM Division, Ministry of Health (MOH) and
in T&CM, encourage more interested parties to Herbal Medicine Research Centre (HMRC), Institute
conduct research in T&CM, and eventually increase for Medical Research (IMR), National Institutes
the quantity and quality of research in T&CM. This of Health (NIH) initiated the development of this
would thus encourage research expertise in T&CM Framework as one of the efforts to drive T&CM
and produce scientific evidence for future policy towards evidence-based practice.
decision making in T&CM in Malaysia. Dr. Zaliha said some of the key topics covered by
Health Minister Dr. Zaliha Mustafa who launched the framework are general considerations and
the two documents said the framework was requirements to conduct research in Malaysia that
developed as a guide for researchers, practitioners, conforms to current guidelines and regulations,
academicians, authority bodies, and T&CM industry and specific considerations for T&CM research
players who are interested in designing, conducting, which delves more deeply into the principles and
and evaluating T&CM research in Malaysia. key components of T&CM research.
“In the pursuit towards professionalisation of the
T&CM industry, research plays an important role
to provide valuable input for an evidence-based
approach in T&CM related policy decision making
as well as creating an evidence base for information
on safety and efficacy of T&CM practices and
products,” she said at the launch.
“However, T&CM research in Malaysia is still in its
developing stage with one of the main challenges
being harmonising modern clinical research

6 NIH Bulletin | National Institutes of Health