SOUTHERN PROVINCE

HUYE—Rwanda recently joined the rest of the Continent in celebrating African Traditional Medicine day that falls on August 31 annually.

Statistics show that 80% of people across the continent use traditional medicine in treating diseases and other health challenges that they are faced with in daily life.

The World Health Organisation defines Traditional medicine as, "practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being.”

Despite being widely used in Africa, Traditional Medicine has been viewed with a lot of skepticism by conventional health practitioners.

The colonial attitude towards traditional medicine still continues today; associating its use with wizards as was the case in colonial days where the practice was described as ‘uncivilized and barbaric’ by colonial masters.

Africa’s situation is a unique one and thus calls for unique solutions. Nowhere in the world has AIDS had more devastating effects than in Africa.

Tens of millions of people throughout the continent are suffering from the virus which has placed a heavy burden on already weakened health systems.

Recognizing that traditional medicine is "the most affordable and accessible system of health care for the majority of the African rural population,” the African Union declared 2001-2010 as the Decade for African Traditional Medicine.

The costly treatments developed by the pharmaceutical industry are too expensive for most Africans, and are not widely available. Little wonder then that most people turn to traditional healers for help in combating the disease.

And despite the skepticism of many, there are signs that some of the plant-based remedies offered by the healers may be not just affordable, but also effective.

Traditional Health Practitioners are very knowledgeable and have great potential. All they need is sensitization, be well informed of modern trends in Medicine and encouraged to work closely with conventional Health Practitioners.

A recent move by the Institute of Scientific and Technological Research in Butare to conduct research on anecdotal claims by one Isidore Mahoro (a traditional health practitioner) who claims to have an HIV/AIDS cure is commendable because it is a recognition that traditional Medicine can play a big role in helping to stem the tide of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the Continent.

There is also need to institutionalize traditional medicine in national health systems because like any other Medicine, if used wrongly, traditional Medicine can be harmful to the patient. There should be checks on its usage and enabling legal framework.

Speaking during the celebrations to mark the fifth African Traditional Medicine day, the World Health Organisation representative in Rwanda Dr Nsue-Milang indicated that the UN agency is helping Rwanda develop a national policy and a legal framework for the practice of traditional medicine. This is would be a welcome move.

Insufficient patient awareness can result in poor usage of traditional medicines. This is compounded by the fact that many traditional remedies are sold over the counter and most of them purchased without prescription.

Worse still, some crooks posing as experts may introduce counterfeit products on the market for unsuspecting patients.

As the celebrated Kenyan author Professor Francis Imbuga suggests in his novel ‘Miracle of Remera’, the cure for HIV/AIDS could be found in traditional Medicine. 

His suggestion that people are not doing enough in this field of medicine needs to be given serious thought.

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