HRF President's Proposal to be Used in Africa

HRF President's Proposal to be Used in Africa

WASHINGTON--United States and African government officials met in February here at theNational Summit on Africa. Among its decisions was acceptance of a proposal from RobertMcCaleb, president of the Herb Research Foundation (HRF), to incorporate traditionalAfrican medicine into a policy plan for Africa. The proposal included improving thequality of rural health through the use of traditional plant-based medicines.

"Millions of Africans of all ages rely on herbal medicines for primary healthcare," McCaleb said. "HRF's contribution to the final policy plan of action willassure that the U.S. government will focus attention on the importance of thesetraditional remedies."

The Summit was the culmination of six previous summits, conducted nationwide, that wereheld to improve the relationship between the United States and Africa and to develop acomprehensive plan to address a number of issues. Those issues included economicdevelopment and trade; democracy and human rights; peace and security; education andculture; and the environment.

At the summit, the final policy plan was presented to the Assistant to the Presidentfor Economic Policy, Gene Sperling. Next, it will be presented to Congress.