Last week, the Ministry of Health banned advertisement of health services in the media by practitioners that are not officially recognised. Like in most places around the world, traditional healers have been an integral part of Rwanda’s health care ecosystem for so many years. While only about 3000 traditional healers are registered countrywide, it is believed that Rwanda is home to well over 14,000 traditional healers, raising concerns about the quality of services provided by particularly the unregistered practitioners. While last week’s decision to ban advertisement of traditional health services in the local media is a step in the right direction, it is safe to say that the decision was long overdue considering that local FM stations have carried advertisements promoting traditional health services for many years now. Yet it’s never too late; the move should mark the start of a deliberate effort to regulate traditional and herbal medicine with view to ridding the sub-sector of fraudsters and thereby safeguarding the health of citizens and residents of Rwanda in general. This will subsequently help enhance the role of traditional medicine in the country’s health care system and save lives – considering that by the time someone who has been receiving ‘treatment’ from a fake traditional healer turns to modern health care it’s often too late to save their life. As pointed out by members of the national association of traditional healers, regulation will help restore faith in a practice that has otherwise suffered from rogue practitioners that have exploited desperate patients, who spend a lot of money on these unsafe services instead of seeking proper treatment from professionals. Regulation of traditional medicine has been long overdue and is urgently needed.
