Shiffa
Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine
Shiffa is a professional body dedicated to drawing from the rich global medical heritage, and
the Arab heritage in particular. It works toward validating traditional forms of Herbal Medicine based on
the medical approach known as evidence-based medicine (EBM). In addition, the Foundation seeks to
establish working relationships with various accredited professional medical institutes throughout the
world.
To work toward bridging the divide that exists between Herbal Medicine and conventional evidence-based
medicine, by adopting an inter-disciplinary approach to offer patients the very best medical care .
• Treatment with herbal medicine at the hands of expert herbal practitioners is considered a viable
economic alternative since it significantly reduces the costs associated with conventional medicine, such
as fees for doctors, tests, and examinations.
• For those living in remote areas, or areas at a distance from major cities, it is often times more practical
to visit a traditional herbal practitioner. As such, it is important that conventional treatment methods try
to incorporate traditional Herbal Medicine.
• Herbal Medicine also conforms to the needs of people by greatly reducing the need of unnecessary
medical tests and examinations, as well as side-effects associated with conventional medicine.
• Advances in technology have greatly facilitated development in the way herbal medicines are
administered. It is now the case that herbal medicine is able to be taken in the form of pills and
injections. Furthermore, modern science has opened up ways to greatly reduce potential side-effects
involved in herbal medicine.
• It is mentioned in an ancient proverb that prevention is better than cure’, and with this in mind the
Shifaa seeks to educate communities in adopting healthier lifestyles.
• That the majority of conventional physicians have reservations about the use of traditional Herbal
Medicine, and see it as an obscure medical practice which lacks clarity and rigour. As a result, the idea of
traditional Herbal Medicine is totally rejected.
• That there are many pseudo-herbal practitioners who are ignorant of even the most basic principles of
Herbal Medicine, and have little to no knowledge or understanding of human physiology.
• That incorrect storage of herbal medication can lead to the growth of unpleasant, and potentially
hazardous parasitic fungi.
• Modern means of communication, and satellite television in particular, have greatly facilitated the rise of
pseudo-herbal practitioners, and provided them with a platform to share their erroneous views, and
propagate harmful products. Such bad practice has unfortunately led to mistrust of Herbal Medicine,
even to the point that those with genuine knowledge of the principles of Herbal Medicine have been
tainted with the same brush. As a result, it has become difficult for people to distinguish between those
who are untrained in the practice of Herbal Medicine, and those with genuine expertise.
• To work toward an inter-disciplinary approach between modern medicine and traditional Herbal
Medicine.
• To utilise the positive benefits of Herbal Medicine based on the principle of evidence-based medicine.
• To fund research into finding cures and remedies for chronic illnesses – such as certain types of
prevalent skin diseases – the treatment of which often times carries lasting side effects.
• To produce medicine significantly lower in cost, allowing those patients with limited means to benefit
equally from advances in healthcare.
• To establish working relationships between practitioners of Herbal Medicine and academic researchers
working in the field of medicine.
• To be able to offer a public service by producing medications at a local level, thus avoiding excessive
taxes, and expensive imports.