Some Interesting Facts About Homeopathy...

What WHO (World Health Organisation) has said about Homeopathy…

• Called for a closer incorporation of Homeopathy into “western medical systems” (Poitevin B. Integrating Homoepathy in Health Systems, WHO Bulletin, 1999, 77, 2, 160-166).
• In 2003-2004, WHO issued a 40-page draft on Homeopathy, entitled Homeopathy: review and analysis of reports on controlled clinical trials, claimed that the “majority” of peer-reviewed scientific papers published over the past 40 years “have demonstrated that homeopathy is superior to placebo in placebo-controlled trials and is equivalent to conventional medicines in the treatment of illness, in both humans and animals” (Gower Dr. N. Homeopathy is more than medicine, Homeopathic Association of South Africa, 2008)
• The WHO states that Homeopathy is the second most used medical system internationally, with over $1 Billion in expenditures for such therapy (Lawrence M. Tierney, Jr. et al, Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment USE: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2004 (1701-03; 4th ed.).
• The WHO state that homeopathy is experiencing an annual growth of around 20 - 25%, and it is estimated that by the year 2017, the world homeopathy market will be equivalent to the size of the entire current alternative health care market.

The Status of Homeopathy in Australia…

• Homeopathy was first introduced to Australia during the days of the gold rush and the first homeopathic practitioner in Australia was Dr. Stephen Simpson, who was appointed the commissioner of lands in Morton Bay in the 1840’s (Culmingham J. Homeopathy in Melbourne; A Historical Perspective, Diversity; Vol. 5, 1995).
• In 1885 the Melbourne Homeopathic Hospital was built on land in St. Kilda Road, the hospital treated 408 cases of typhoid fever with a mortality rate of 10.29% whilst the Royal Melbourne Hospital treated 351 cases with a 22.22% mortality (Watson, W.G. Letter to the editor. Australasian Medical Gazette; May 1890).
• Martin and Pleasance Natural Medicine is a long standing Homeopathic Pharmacy which started manufacturing homeopathic medicine for the Melbourne and Australian people in 1855 due to demand and popularity of homeopathy.
• In 1855 Mr Kinder opened his homeopathic pharmacy at 85 Collins Street. Between 1855 and 1860 Mr Edward Gould joined forces with Mr Kinder and the pharmacy was renamed Kinder and Gould.
• In 1860 M Edward Gould became the sole owner of the homeopathic pharmacy, renaming it Gould and Son, he also moved the business to 90 Collins Street.
• In 1864 Mr R J Martin joined Gould and Son; the business was renamed Gould and Martin. Shortly after, Edward Gould returned to England leaving Mr Martin as the sole proprietor. He retained the name of Gould and Martin.
• In 1869 Homeopathic physicians would meet at the rooms of Gould and Martin to discuss the opening of a homeopathic dispensary in Melbourne.
• Charles Pleasance came to Australia in 1855 from England, he had studied medicine and was elected the first Lord Mayor of Melbourne.  In 1878 Charles Pleasance became partners with R. Martin at which time they renamed the pharmacy Martin and Pleasance. 
• In 1886, he became the sole owner of Martin and Pleasance. Up until the closure of the Melbourne Homeopathic Hospital in 1924, Martin and Pleasance supplied the hospital with its remedies. The son of Charles Pleasance, Frederick, continued to run the family business after Charles. Succeeding Frederick were the brothers Charles and Phillip Pleasance.
• Martin & Pleasance celebrated 150 years of business in 2005. The company is no longer owned by the Pleasance family, but continues to provide quality homeopathic remedies to practitioners (http://www.martinandpleasance.com/about-us/history/#)

The Status of Homeopathy in Europe…

• Three Europeans out of four know about homeopathy and of these 29% use it for their healthcare (Homeopathic medicinal products.  Commission report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Directives 92/73 and 92/74).
• 45% of Dutch doctors use homeopathy (Medical Journal of Australia, 2000, 172, 105-109) and 39% of Belgian paediatricians are in favour of Homeopathy (Homeopathy, 2002, 91, 262).
• A massive 70% of French GP’s utilise Homeopathic medicines themselves as a corresponding percentage of the population incorporate homeopathy into their health care to some degree. This is further assisted by the Governments 35% subsidy on all Homeopathic Medicines.
• All Pharmacy schools in France teach Homeopathy as do six Medical Colleges and four Veterinary Colleges.
• Homeopathic Medicines are consequently sold in over 20,000 Pharmacies across France. The leading cold and flu medicine sold in France is still the Homeopathic preparation ‘Oscillococcinum’. This enormous popularity and public acceptance overall caused French President Mitterand and six leading Deans to officially call for further research to be conducted.

The Status of Homeopathy in the United Kingdom…

• Homeopathy is recognised underneath parliamentary law as a part of the National Health Care System, with several Homeopathic Hospitals being freely accessible including the Historic Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, for which the Queen acts as official Patron.
• The British Royal Family has been under homeopathic care since 1820 and there has always been a Royal Homeopathic Doctor.  The Queen carries her ‘black box’ of homeopathic remedies which includes 60 vials of homeopathic medicines with her on all her travels (http://sueyounghistories.com/archives/2008/02/05/aneurin-bevan-and-homeopathy).
• According the British Medical Journal, 42% of British physicians surveyed in Avon, UK refer patients to homeopathic practitioners.
• According to The Times of London, homeopathy is now the fastest growing alternative therapy in Scotland. (Take A Little of What Ails You, The Times, November 13, 1989).
• In 2005, 60% of UK doctors who use homeopathy do so because of good experience of homeopathy as effective treatment and anxiety about the hazards of conventional treatment (Halvorsen, R. Alternative therapies in the practice, The General Practitioner Magazine, February 2005).
• In 2010, the UK Government came out in favour of continuing the NHS Funding of Homeopathy and the market for Homeopathy has grown by 18% since 2008.  It is now worth a staggering £213 million a year ($310 million AUD), with experts expecting a rise of up to £282 million ($410 million AUD) by 2014 (Government Response to the Science and Technology Committee report ‘Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy’, July 2010).  

The Status of Homeopathy in India…

• India currently leads the world in terms of Government sanctioned Integrated Healthcare, with Homeopathy being formally and legally acknowledged so that Homeopathic Physicians enjoy the same legal standing as western allopathic doctors.
• There are over 200,000 Homeopathic Physicians in India having graduated from a standardised 5 ½ year degree from one of over 180 Homeopathic Medical Colleges.
• Over 5000 Government run Homeopathy clinics currently operate in India, with the WHO stating that ‘Homeopathic treatments seem well suited for treatment in rural areas’.    

Popularity of Homeopathy…

Homeopathy’s popularity is growing by leaps and bounds.  Homeopathy is the fastest growing medicine at an annual growth of around 20%-25% a year in the world.  The WHO has stated estimations that by the year 2017, the world homeopathy market would be equivalent to the size of the entire current alternative health care market.  A ranking of the world’s top healing systems (including pharmaceutical drug therapy) carried out in 2003 had homeopathy second only in popularity to Traditional Chinese Medicine (Kemper K.J. Jacobs J, Homeopathy in Paediatrics – No harm likely but how much good? Contemporary Paediatrics, May, 2003, 20, 97-111).

So as you can see, as long as people demand quality healthcare, governments are obliged to provide.  Undoubtedly, homeopathy is truly the medicine for the 21st century.