Health Minister Fahrettin Koca met with health correspondents on the occasion of the Launch Meeting of the 2nd International Traditional and Complementary Medicine (GETAT) Congress at the Islamic Science and Technology History Museum.
Starting his speech by commemorating the founder of the museum late Fuat Sezgin, Dr. Koca stated that the Congress would be organized under the auspices of the Presidency, and honored by Ms. First Lady Emine Erdogan.
Fahrettin Koca stated that since the beginning of mankind, each period adopted a medical approach and built a medical organization shaped with the possibilities, knowledge and experiences of the relevant era, which may not be evidence-based but developed on the basis of long-term experiments and observations.
Referring to definition made by WHO, Dr. Koca said that” Traditional and complementary medicine is the integration of knowledge, skills and practices coming from different cultures, beliefs and experiences, in order to protect, prevent or treat physical and mental diseases, as well as to maintain good health.
Traditional medicine, which was initially limited to the sphere of the societies, began to spread throughout the world, including developed countries after the 1990s. In many developed countries, it is known that 70 to 80 percent of the population refers to a form of complementary medicine.
In the last 10-15 years, integrated medicine practices, combining traditional medicine and modern medicine techniques, started to be used and come forward. GETAT Strategy of WHO 2014-2023 and the recent GETAT studies focus on the recommendations concerning Integrative Medicine point of view or the integration of GETAT into modern medical practices. The aim is to present the safe, efficient and effective medical techniques to the service of humanity in the light of science. For this purpose, we have prepared the Clinical Research Regulation in Traditional and Complementary Medicine Practices by examining the studies of WHO and many other countries in order to be able to apply Traditional and Complementary Medicine to laboratory and clinical studies accurately and efficiently. This regulation was published in the official newspaper today. This regulation will be an important step for the academic studies to be carried out in this area. Perhaps more importantly, in this way, it will be ensured that the traditional treatment areas are subjected to an effective and safe implementation” added Health Minister.
In accordance with arrangements made by the Ministry, only doctors are authorized in Turkey for traditional medicine, and certified allied healthcare professionals may also engage in such practices as osteopathy and music therapy under the supervision of a doctor.
As of today, 56 GETAT Application Centers are opened for R & D and Training activities in 56 university hospitals in Turkey. 3 thousand 350 doctors were awarded GETAT certification at these universities.
To raise awareness and provide correct information in this field, the 1st GETAT congress was held last year, and this year the Congress will take place on 24-27 April in Istanbul.
The main theme of this year will be GETAT practices in Chronic Illnesses, with a special focus on apitherapy applications.
Turkey ranks second in the world in beekeeping and honey production after China. Turkey has a tremendously rich flora. There are hundreds of medical endemic plants in our country. Therefore, this flora's honey is also very important for apitherapy. Other bee products except honey are also developing. The Ministry of Agriculture carries out national apiculture projects. And the Ministry of Health published a regulation covering apitherapy. The new head of the International Apitherapy Federation was elected from Turkey. We want Turkey to host the 2020 World Congress of apitherapy. Particularly next year we want to emphasize apitheraphy as the theme of the congress.
Our main aim is to present modern medicine and GETAT applications to our people in an integrated manner under the guidance of science. As you know, the primary principle in medicine is not to harm. Therefore, in this way, uncontrolled, non-competent, non-medical applications will be eliminated.
At the end of the program, Dr. Koca toured the Islamic Science and Technology History Museum and took a souvenir photo together with press members.
© 2024 Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health All rights reserved.
