This book is an attempt to ensure that traditional knowledge is not lost and that ecosystems are protected for future generations. It describes more than 270 traditional medicinal treatments, all of which use the plants of the Marshall Islands, and provides a biogeographical, historical and anthropological context, with a particular focus on the use of traditional medicine for the treatment of women.

This report is structured in five parts: national framework for traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM); product regulation; practices and practitioners; the challenges faced by countries; and finally the country profiles. Apart from the section on practices and practitioners the report is consistent with the format of the report of the first global survey in order to provide a useful comparison. The section on practices and practitioners which covers providers education and health insurance is a new section incorporated to reflect the emerging trends in T&CM and to gather new information regarding these topics at a national level. All new information received has been incorporated into individual country profiles and data graphs. The report captures the three phases of progress made by Member States; that is before and after the first WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy (1999?2005) from the first global survey to the second global survey (2005?2012) and from the second survey to the most recent timeline (2012?2018).

The COVID-19 pandemic provides stark evidence of the importance of medicine on a global scale. However, revisiting the influenza pandemic of 1918 provided a perspective as we searched for a viable vaccine and instituted public health measures. This shows that medical knowledge is an accumulative process extending to the past and it is in the spirit of that legacy that this bibliography has been compiled. The book is a one-stop resource that cites literature related to the historical aspects of medicine. It also acknowledges medicine’s global reach and devotes significant effort in that respect. Although the online world seems to dominate on both a social and educational level, there is still a need for thoughtfully curated and focused reference works and this bibliography accomplishes that goal. The book has 9,000+ citations. It utilizes the WHO's International classification of Diseases for the section on diseases and disorders and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Product Code Classification Database for the section on medical devices, equipment, and instruments. It includes detailed subject, geographuc, and people indexes for an easy reference.

"...the book covers a wide range of topics on the Marshall Islands, including chapters on the geography and physical environment, the ecosystems and flora, early human settlement and post-colonial history, traditional Marshallese medicine, and topics on modern applied science related to the exploitation of sand, gravel and rock aggregate, waste management, and the use of geographical information systems (GIS) for socioeconomic analysis. Authors of chapters include Dr. Terry and Dr. Terry, Professor Randy Thaman, Dr. Irene Taafaki, Director of the USP Marshall Islands Centre, ex-geography lecturer, John Morrell, and staff of SOPAC." --Publisher.

This beautifully illustrated textbook pairs research on the biochemical properties and physiological effects of medicinal plants with a history of the ways in which humans have cultivated plant species and investigated their effects. Nature's Pharmacopeia fosters an appreciation of the chemistry and cultural resonance of herbal medicine.