Taking Traditional Medicine To The People of Mongolia
David Tharp
The Nippon Foundation
The Nippon Foundation
Indepth Articles
[Jul. 30, 2008]
A unique system to distribute medical supplies to people who live in remore places on the vast Mongolian steppe is proving a big hit. This program was established to reach people, particularly families, who don't have access to hospital medical services.
In Mongolia, traditional medicine remedies have been the mainstay of the population for centuries. However, it has been difficult to reach nomadic people with even basic traditional medical supplies until the recent establishment of a Mongolian Ministry of Health (MOH) program supported by the Nippon Foundation.
MOH officially recognizes traditional medicine, and sees it as a useful tool to improve health services in the country. Therefore, the Ministry undertook a three-fold program which 1) trains medical practitioners in traditional medicine, 2) provides mobile traditional medical services to people in rural areas, and 3) distributes family pharmacy kits containing traditional medicines.
he family pharmacy kits, which are provided on a loan basis, contain traditional Mongolian medicines that are more affordable than their Western equivalents. The distribution of such kits is a creative way of establishing a sustainable health service system.
The kit contains 12 types of traditional medicines ranging from ones that treat stomach and intestinal problems to fever remedies. The kit also contains a thermometer, cotton wool, and gauze, worth a total of US$8. It is a pay-as-you-go system, so that people only pay for the medicines that they use. This puts less of a financial burden on households that cannot afford to spend money on more expensive medicine.The medicines included in the family pharmacy kit, their medical effects, and their prescription are all officially recognized and approved by the MOH of Mongolia.
Another distinctive feature is the visits that doctors make to households for the purpose of checking pharmacy kits. These visits are usually made twice a year, during which the doctors not only collect payment and replenish supplies, but also provide free medical advice.
The plan is to further enhance and fine-tune the family pharmacy kit system, turning the project into a model for improving medical services throughout the country. To date 10,000 households in 15 villages of 5 provinces have received the kits, and with the cooperation of rural medical practitioners the collection of payments for medicines used and replenishment of supplies have gone smoothly.
Similar projects in other Asian countries with a traditional medicine background are also being studied as a result of this successful implementation in Mongolia.