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Formation | 1996 |
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Founder | Nancy Kelly |
Founded at | Hebron, New Hampshire |
Type | Nonprofit |
Website | www |
Homeopaths Without Borders (HWB) is a nonprofit organization based in Hebron, New Hampshire, which was founded in 1996 by Nancy Kelly. [1] [2] Modelled after Doctors Without Borders, it sends practitioners to developing countries to administer the pseudoscience of homeopathy, [3] [4] in an attempt to gain traction in countries where it does not already have a foothold. [5] It has several different national associations, including Germany and North America. [6]
HWB delivers homeopathic medicines which they claim help with treatment of malaria, typhoid and other potentially deadly diseases. Homeopathic medications have not been deemed effective in any of these conditions. [7] They claim to have helped spread homeopathy to countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Kenya. [8] They sent homeopaths to distribute water, food and homeopathic treatments to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. [5] [9]
HWB has been largely criticized by the scientific community. [5] [10] [6]
In 2013 HWB were awarded The Golden Blockhead award by the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences.
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a disease in healthy people can cure similar symptoms in sick people; this doctrine is called similia similibus curentur, or "like cures like". Homeopathic preparations are termed remedies and are made using homeopathic dilution. In this process, the selected substance is repeatedly diluted until the final product is chemically indistinguishable from the diluent. Often not even a single molecule of the original substance can be expected to remain in the product. Between each dilution homeopaths may hit and/or shake the product, claiming this makes the diluent "remember" the original substance after its removal. Practitioners claim that such preparations, upon oral intake, can treat or cure disease.
Allopathic medicine, or allopathy, is an archaic and derogatory label originally used by 19th-century homeopaths to describe heroic medicine, the precursor of modern evidence-based medicine. There are regional variations in usage of the term. In the United States, the term is sometimes used to contrast with osteopathic medicine, especially in the field of medical education. In India, the term is used to distinguish conventional modern medicine from Siddha medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, Unani and other alternative and traditional medicine traditions, especially when comparing treatments and drugs.
The British Homeopathic Association (BHA) is a British charity founded in 1902 by John Epps to promote homeopathy and advocate for its training and research. The BHA was re-branded in 2021 to Homeopathy UK. It supports the use of homeopathy within general and specialist healthcare, and provides a listing of homeopathic practitioners. From 1902, the BHA co-sponsored the Missionary School of Medicine, a school of medicine for medical missionaries. The charity also campaigns for more homeopathy in Britain's National Health Service (NHS).
Boiron is a manufacturer of homeopathic products, headquartered in France and with an operating presence in 59 countries worldwide. It is the largest manufacturer of homeopathic products in the world. In 2004, it employed a workforce of 2,779 and had a turnover of € 313 million. It is currently a member of the CAC Small stock index.
Edzard Ernst is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. He was Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, the world's first such academic position in complementary and alternative medicine.
Sense about Science is a United Kingdom charitable organization that promotes the public understanding of science. Sense about Science was founded in 2002 by Lord Taverne, Bridget Ogilvie and others to promote respect for scientific evidence and good science. It was established as a charitable trust in 2003, with 14 trustees, an advisory council and a small office staff. Tracey Brown has been the director since 2002.
George Vithoulkas is a Greek teacher and practitioner of homeopathy.
Homeoprophylaxis, or homeopathic prophylaxis, is the use of homeopathy, a pseudoscience, as a preventive medicine or immunisation against serious infectious diseases.
Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required.
The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of traditional medicine and alternative medicine systems in India. Ayush is a name devised from the names of the alternative healthcare systems covered by the ministry: ayurveda, yoga & naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and homeopathy.
In homeopathy, homeopathic dilution is a process in which a substance is diluted with alcohol or distilled water and then vigorously shaken in a process called "succussion". Insoluble solids, such as quartz and oyster shell, are diluted by grinding them with lactose (trituration). The founder of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843), asserted that the process of succussion activated the "vital energy" of the diluted substance, and that successive dilutions increased the "potency" of the preparation, although other strands of homeopathy disagreed.
The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) was a charity run by King Charles III founded in 1993. The foundation promoted complementary and alternative medicine, preferring to use the term "integrated health", and lobbied for its inclusion in the National Health Service. The charity closed in 2010 after allegations of fraud and money laundering led to the arrest of a former official.
Mukesh Batra is the founder of Dr Batra's group of companies, a chain of homeopathy clinics in 6 countries and an FMCG brand. He is a first generation entrepreneur, the author of books on homeopathy, and writer of health columns in publications such as The Times of India. He was awarded the Padma Shri award for homeopathic medicine in 2012. Batra is known for using modern technology to bring standardization to "homeopathic healthcare solutions". He is regarded by some as the pioneer of modern homeopathy in India. He started the World's first branded and computerized homeopathy clinic in 1982. He also introduced the blister-packaging of homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathy practice is unregulated in New Zealand and homeopathic remedies are available at pharmacies, although there are calls to have them removed from sale.
The Good Thinking Society is a nonprofit organisation promoting scientific scepticism established by Simon Singh in September 2012.
Homeopathy Plus! is an Australian company run by homeopath Fran Sheffield in Tuggerah, New South Wales. It is known for the claim that homeopathy is an effective, and safer, alternative to vaccination for conditions including whooping cough, along with claims that homeopathy is superior to chemotherapy for cancer. The claims for "homeoprophylaxis" were assessed as misleading by the Complaints Resolution Panel of the Therapeutic Goods Administration and a retraction demanded; this was ignored. The prophylaxis claims were referred to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), and although this was stated to have resulted in their removal, legal proceedings continued, culminating in a ruling by Justice Perry of the Federal Court of Australia in December 2014 that:
CEASE therapy is a pseudoscientific practice used by naturopaths who claim that it can treat or even cure people with autism, claims which have been adjudicated by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority as "bogus". It involves a mixture of supplements, high-dose vitamin C, 'orthomolecular support', dietary restrictions, and homeopathy. The therapy was developed by Dutch doctor Tinus Smits, who claimed to have used it to treat over 300 children with autism. It became more notable in 2017/2018 because of regulatory action taken by professional bodies in The Netherlands, UK, and Canada following a series of complaints about unfounded claims.
Alternative medicine describes any practice which aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine, but which lacks biological plausibility and is untested or untestable. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), integrated medicine or integrative medicine (IM), and holistic medicine are among many rebrandings of the same phenomenon.
The Society of Homeopaths (SoH) is a British private limited company formed in 1978 by "a small group of homeopaths who were keen to work together for the development of the profession and to ensure high standards in the practice of homeopathy" and at September 2018 had 997 members on the Society's register who can refer to themselves as RSHoms. The SoH's register was first accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) in September 2014 allowing members to display the Accredited Register's logo at the time. In January 2021 the PSA suspended the society's accreditation for failure to meet standards the PSA had set.
The infinitesimally low concentration of homeopathic preparations, which often lack even a single molecule of the diluted substance, has been the basis of questions about the effects of the preparations since the 19th century. Modern advocates of homeopathy have proposed a concept of "water memory", according to which water "remembers" the substances mixed in it, and transmits the effect of those substances when consumed. This concept is inconsistent with the current understanding of matter, and water memory has never been demonstrated to exist, in terms of any detectable effect, biological or otherwise.