Luanda — The secretary to the Presidency of the Republic for Social Affairs, Rosa Pacavira, said Monday in Luanda that the traditional medicine has all along played a relevant role as people with insufficient resources to access conventional medicine find alternative in the use of plants for their healthcare.

The official was speaking at the opening of the National Conference on Traditional Medicine.

She stated that in view of the various changes occurred in the political and socio-economic plans of the 1980's and 1990's of the last century, many countries of Latin America resorted to popular practices that included the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of illnesses.

The official said phototherapy has evolved to sophistication, enabling a deeper knowledge of the healing powers of plants which can no longer be considered a tradition of the past handed down from parents to children, but a science that has been studied and improved.

Rosa Pacavira noted that the abundance of various native vegetal species and their knowledge by the local communities from various regions of the country has made access to them less costly for the preparation of infusions.