Herbalists want action against unlicensed practitioners

The head of the traditional healers association, AGA Rwanda Network, has observed that traditional doctors claiming to treat all diseases are on the increase.Emmanuel Rekeraho said this usually has great repercussions on health as gullible patients consume substandard drugs that bring about drug resistance. He called on the government to enact stringent laws that bar unlicensed practitioners.“We have an association recognised by the Ministry of Health. The problem is that there are other people falsely selling drugs under our name,” Rekeraho said during an interview with The New Times.According to Rekeraho, the association has over 2,700 members.“We need to play a pivotal role in healing diseases using traditional medicine; but we can’t do so unless the Ministry of Health creates an environment that aeverts disorder,” he stated, citing a herbalist in Ngoma District who allegedly caused the deaths of four people after prescribing wrong medicine.“When we went to verify whether the doctor was a member of the association, we found he was not; yet people thought he was,” he explained.“It is better if a law is enacted to enable us to work in an orderly manner”.A number of Kigali residents The New Times spoke to admitted they have ever used traditional medicine.“I have used it on many occasions. Sometimes it heals, but the problem is that there is no testing before prescribing the drug and no clear dosage,” commented a Kimironko resident who only gave his name as Robert.“This kind of medicine is good because it doesn’t have chemicals that are sometimes harmful to human body,” he added.Another resident, Gorette Umutesi, of Gitega Sector, said her concern was that the medicine is haphazardly sold even on street corners. “You can’t know where to buy genuine medicine; but I often buy traditional medicine when modern ones fail”. When The New Times visited the premises of several traditional healers, bottles full of traditional medicine, some in powder form, litter the counters with inscriptions of a long list of diseases that are treated.Eric Dushime, who operates from Nyabugogo, claimed to treat all diseases though he has no medical training background.“We first carry out a test to find out what the patient is suffering from and then we prescribe accordingly. We have various machines that we use. I learnt the trade from others,” Dushime reveals.Jacqueline Musoni, another traditional healer, says; “We advise our patients not to take any other medicine when they are taking ours”.Contacted for a comment, Dr John Patrick Mwesigye, Pharmaceutical Coordinator in the Ministry of Health, said they have already drafted a law to regulate traditional medicine practitioners.He warned those selling traditional medicine on the streets and other undesignated places to abandon the trade or go for registration. He also advised the public against resorting to traditional herbs unless recommended by trained medics.“The ministry can’t ban traditional healing …but people should know that it is bad to use traditional medicine before seeing medical doctors,” he said dismissing claims that some traditional doctors can treat all diseases.He explained that after the enactment of the law, only members of the association would be allowed to work with the Ministry of Health to streamline operations.

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Herbalists want action against unlicensed practitioners