BackgroundUganda Herbs and Research Centre was formed by herbalists under the leadership of the National Resistance Army veter-an Sabiiti Camilo Lawrence who had had a personal experience on usage of traditional medicine during the National Liberation War of 1981. The center was formed in 1999 with its leader’s retirement from the Army. It was later registered as a Community Based Organization in Busia District in 2003.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENTFACILITY FUNDING

IMPACT TESTIMONIALSKILLS DEVELOPMENT FACILITY’S EFFORTS TO CREATEA HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE SOCIETY THROUGHSUPPORT TO RESEARCH AND SKILLING COMMUNITIES.A case study of Uganda Herbs and Research Centre (UHARC)

SDF Impact Report: Issue 011

02 Acres Of Land Established for Research purposes

50 Samples and Photocemical reports obtained.

What Figures Say......

FACTS & QUOTES

Vision: To have a healthy produc-tive society based on self reliance. Mission: To develop, promote and use traditional medicine in our health care service delivery. Our goal: Wealth creation After realizing challenges facing traditional medicine not only in Uganda but else where, we noted that traditional medicine had great medicinal potencies which had not been given maximum attention.

This was partly due to our colonial maters who discouraged the use of

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) garden managed by Uganda Herbs and Research Centre

traditional medicine for their own interests and even during the post independence era where there was a mere change of guards. With the coming of the new area of a fundamental change brought by theNational Resistance Movement/Army, it was realized that Uganda had been blessed abundantly with a great variety of medicinal plant species. It’s from this that Uganda herbs and research centre labours and picks its vision and mission targeting its goal.

What we discovered during our feasibility study in 1999 1. Many Ugandans believes that traditional medicine was satanic and meant for illiterates and not elites. Our sincere gratitude goes to Doctor Grace Nambatya Kyeyune-Director of Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute and her stuff for the tireless great efforts they had in sensitizing Ugandans and promoting traditional medicine and above all the National Resistance Movement government for keeping us in existence

2. Poor methods of handling medicinal plants and their products resulting in great loss especially during harvesting and post harvesting

3. Poor methods of process and manufacture of traditional medicine which includes packaging.

4. Lack of proper diagnosis of patients and prescription of traditional medicine for administration. 5. Individuals claiming treat all types of diseased

6. Exploitation of patients without even offering the required services. 7. Lack of record keeping

8. Extinction of medicinal plant species due to poor harvesting methods and other factors.

9. Harvesting herbal medicine materials from the wilderness without preservation.

10. Loss of indigenous knowledge regarding medicinal plants and their potencies.

11. Failure to distinguish between traditional medicine and witchcraft.

“ Our Herbalists were able to obtain their daily income to meet their daily needs through selling herbalproducts.”

“We have in collaboration with researchers fromNatural Chemotherapeutics Research institute analyzed fifty herbal samples andphotochemical reportsobtained.”

“We have established two acres gardens of research of Rosemary and Aloegarbadensis respectively using good agricultural practices.”

Achievements Sincere we were formed in 1999; we have done the following; 1. We have identified several medicinal plants with medicinal potentials for treatment and prevention of various diseases. 2. We have developed a data collection mechanism for the purpose of preserving information for the future generation. 3. We have in collaboration with researchers from Natural Chemotherapeutics Research institute analyzed fifty herbal samples and photochemical reports obtained. 4. We have had some of our herbal products evaluated by the National Drug Authority (NDA) and permitted to sell them on open market within Uganda. 5. We have attended several traditional medicine workshops, seminars and conferences6. We have had hands on skills development training in good manufacturing practices of herbal products and good agricultural practices, cultivation of medicinal plants by trainers from Natural Chemotherapeutics research institute as funded by private sector foundation Uganda.

7. We have established two acres gardens of research of Rosemary and Aloe garbadensis respectively using good agricultural practices.

BackgroundUganda Herbs and Research Centre was formed by herbalists under the leadership of the National Resistance Army veter-an Sabiiti Camilo Lawrence who had had a personal experience on usage of traditional medicine during the National Liberation War of 1981. The center was formed in 1999 with its leader’s retirement from the Army. It was later registered as a Community Based Organization in Busia District in 2003.

Vision: To have a healthy produc-tive society based on self reliance. Mission: To develop, promote and use traditional medicine in our health care service delivery. Our goal: Wealth creation After realizing challenges facing traditional medicine not only in Uganda but else where, we noted that traditional medicine had great medicinal potencies which had not been given maximum attention.

This was partly due to our colonial maters who discouraged the use of

traditional medicine for their own interests and even during the post independence era where there was a mere change of guards. With the coming of the new area of a fundamental change brought by theNational Resistance Movement/Army, it was realized that Uganda had been blessed abundantly with a great variety of medicinal plant species. It’s from this that Uganda herbs and research centre labours and picks its vision and mission targeting its goal.

What we discovered during our feasibility study in 1999 1. Many Ugandans believes that traditional medicine was satanic and meant for illiterates and not elites. Our sincere gratitude goes to Doctor Grace Nambatya Kyeyune-Director of Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute and her stuff for the tireless great efforts they had in sensitizing Ugandans and promoting traditional medicine and above all the National Resistance Movement government for keeping us in existence

2. Poor methods of handling medicinal plants and their products resulting in great loss especially during harvesting and post harvesting

3. Poor methods of process and manufacture of traditional medicine which includes packaging.

4. Lack of proper diagnosis of patients and prescription of traditional medicine for administration. 5. Individuals claiming treat all types of diseased

6. Exploitation of patients without even offering the required services. 7. Lack of record keeping

8. Extinction of medicinal plant species due to poor harvesting methods and other factors.

9. Harvesting herbal medicine materials from the wilderness without preservation.

10. Loss of indigenous knowledge regarding medicinal plants and their potencies.

11. Failure to distinguish between traditional medicine and witchcraft.

Our Appreciations......

Achievements Sincere we were formed in 1999; we have done the following; 1. We have identified several medicinal plants with medicinal potentials for treatment and prevention of various diseases. 2. We have developed a data collection mechanism for the purpose of preserving information for the future generation. 3. We have in collaboration with researchers from Natural Chemotherapeutics Research institute analyzed fifty herbal samples and photochemical reports obtained. 4. We have had some of our herbal products evaluated by the National Drug Authority (NDA) and permitted to sell them on open market within Uganda. 5. We have attended several traditional medicine workshops, seminars and conferences6. We have had hands on skills development training in good manufacturing practices of herbal products and good agricultural practices, cultivation of medicinal plants by trainers from Natural Chemotherapeutics research institute as funded by private sector foundation Uganda.

7. We have established two acres gardens of research of Rosemary and Aloe garbadensis respectively using good agricultural practices.

We wish to send our heartfelt gratitude to themanagement of Skills Development Facility and Private Sector Foundation-Uganda. We again wish to thank their staff and management for skilling us and more so obtaining workers pass after our assessment with the Directorate of Industri-al Training (DIT) under Ministry of Education. We are no longer job seekers but job makers. This is a successful signal of the National ResistanceMovement leadership on transforming Uganda and it’s economy

Private Sector Foundation-Uganda funded us for skills development training, under window 2 for informal sectors and training was completed on 18thDecember, 2019, with assessment by Directorate ofIndustrial training Ministry of Education.

Chia seeds garden managed by Uganda Herbs and Research Centre.

Some participants during orientation trainings

Demonstration by the trainers on preparation of the various ingredients for soap manufacturing.

Trainees pouring soap paste into moulds for maturing into herbal soap tablets

The soap tablets developed through research by Uganda Herbs and Research Centre.

The finished Rena herbal soap products .

Skills Development Facility Private Sector Foundation UgandaTel: +256312263849/50 sdf@sdfuganda.org43 Nakasero Road, Box 7683 Kampala - Uganda SDF is a Government of Uganda project funded by The World Bank and implemented by

Private Sector Foundation Uganda.

Interview By; Joanne Ainabyona, Content Developer, All Round Consult

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