Homeopaths celebrate 20 years of practice in UAE with international conference
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Dubai: Homeopaths in the UAE celebrated 20 years of successful homeopathy practice in the country by organising an international conference in Dubai.
Indian Homoeopathic Medical Association (IHMA)’s Fourth International Homeopathy Conference, ‘Remedium 4.0’, was held on Sunday.
The conference took place after a gap of four years and aimed to gather global homeopathic fraternity to collaborate, exchange views and share their expertise as to how homeopathy contributes towards wellbeing, the organisers said.
“Concurrently, we also held the 20th anniversary celebration and success of homeopathy in the UAE, under the theme ‘Together towards Tomorrow’,” they added.
Around 250 homeo doctors from the UAE, other GCC countries, India and Pakistan attended the conference.
K Kalimuthu, consul (Economic, Trade and Commerce) at the Indian Consulate in Dubai was the chief guest while eminent homeopaths from India, Dr Saptarshi Banerjee and Professor Dr Mansoor Ali, presented scientific papers on the scope of homeopathic medicines in treating various skin ailments.
What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a German system of alternative medicine based on the principle of ‘Similia Similibus Curantur’ or ‘Likes cure likes’. It is one of the systems of alternative and traditional systems of medicine in the Aysush system of India. According to the World Health Organisation, homeopathy is the second largest system of medicine that is widely accepted all over the world for more than 200 years.
How it started
In February 2002 the first selection of homeopathic practitioners was undertaken in Abu Dhabi by the Ministry of Health and homeopathy was legally regulated into the healthcare system of the UAE. Today, many medical centres have homeopathy incorporated in their facilities.
Dr Halowine Coelho, from Frontline Medical Centre, Dubai, who was one of the first homeopaths to receive the licence to practice in the UAE in February 2002, said: “The residents of the UAE welcomed this treatment with open arms. Since it was a popular form of treatment in India, many expats were happy to avail of this opportunity here. Although the journey had been quite challenging initially, it has been very encouraging and when we look back through the years it has evolved into a popular system of treatment in the region.”
Why UAE?
Dr Alphonse Dsouza, president of IHMA UAE and the conference chairman, said: “The conference recognised and acknowledged the support provided for us to flourish in the region. It also provided a platform for us to connect with one another and educate homoeopaths to keep updated with the evolving medical knowledge and practices. We chose the UAE because it’s growing as a hub in healthcare and has acquired a prominent place in the healthcare map over the years. It’s very important for us healthcare workers and providers to come together to promote the healthcare system we practice as a part of this revolution in the medical field.”
Dr Rozina Baig Zaheer from Zia Medical centre and the convenor for the Remedium 4.0 conference said: “The UAE is a home to diverse cultures, beliefs and traditions where people have their individual perspective towards the lifestyle they adopt and the same applies when it comes to the acceptance of a specific health care system as well.”
Dr V.K. Seethalakshmi, homeopathic practitioner at Unicare Medical Centre in Dubai, said: “Homeopathy has seen its own share of popularity and distrust over the past two centuries. However, it has inevitably established itself as an accepted alternative medicine as people experienced its benefits in treating day–to–day illnesses as well as chronic ailments.”
