National Institute for Complementary Medicine in Australia
Reports from June of this year announced that a National Institute for Complementary Medicine will be established in
Australia. This effort will include $4 million from the Australian government.
The University of Western Sydney will play a chief role as host of the new institute that aims to increase and advance the use of complementary and alternative medicine in the outback.
Goals for Australia’s National Institute for Complementary Medicine include support of “postdoctoral training to ensure that the industry has the research personnel it needs to expand,” with an emphasis on research studies on herbal remedies.
Medical News Today reported that the Commonwealth Government is also supporting the efforts with grants totaling $5 million, funneled through the National Health and Medical Research Council. These grant dollars will research complementary and alternative medicines’ effectiveness.
As we informed readers on altMD, more than one-third of Americans use forms of complementary and alternative medicine. The popularity of CAM in Australia is also high, with Australians spending close to $1 billion each year on CAM treatments like homeopathic remedies and vitamin supplements.