Ecohealth approach, with a special focus on medicinal plants

Meeting: Methodology Workshop on Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, 5-7 December, 2005, Nairobi, KEThe ecohealth approach is a programme of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada). It is an initiative supporting research into the improvement of human health through environmental betterment. The three methodological pillars of the ecohealth approach are transdisciplinarity, social equity and gender sensitivity, and community participation. One of the sub-themes of the ecohealth approach focuses on medicinal plants, the area of special attention in the present contribution. The conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants can provide numerous benefits to people in terms of health, income and cultural promotion. The paper mentions some of the major social groups that can potentially be beneficiaries of ecohealth projects and some possible specific objectives of projects