TODAY on August 31, Africans are celebrating African Traditional Medicine Day.
The day coincides with the date on which the ministers of health adopted the relevant resolution at the 50th session of the World Health Organisation Regional Committee for Africa held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 80% of Africa’s population relies on traditional medicine for their basic health needs, and in some cases, traditional medicine is the only healthcare service available, accessible and affordable to many people on the continent.
In commemoration of this day, Caxton Local Media spoke to Durban traditional healer Thabani Cele of Kwazihlahlazemithi, who said African medicine is a holistic discipline involving the use of indigenous herbalism combined with aspects of African spirituality.
“We rely mainly upon medicinal plants and herbs for the preparation of therapeutic substances. The therapeutic properties of several medicinal plants and popular traditional medicine remedies are being investigated and validated,” he said. Cele revealed that most of his traditional medicines are examined by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) since they formed a partnership 10 years ago.
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Each year, medical students from UKZN visit Kwazihlahlazemithi, which is a traditional healthcare institution for patients with various illnesses, to learn more about traditional medicine and sangomas.
He alluded that traditional medicine has a clear role to play in society. Cele said: “Even WHO supports the practice of traditional medicine to complement modern medicine. The promotion and development of traditional medicine can both foster dignity and self-confidence in communities through self-reliance, while considerably reducing the country’s drug costs.”
A statement from the South African Government celebrating the day says the national Department of Health recognises that there is an entrenched historical bias towards Western/allopathic healthcare that has a long history.
“The government has committed itself to the involvement of traditional healers in official healthcare services. This includes several types of traditional healthcare practitioners who can be broadly categorised as diviners, herbalists, faith healers and traditional birth attendants. These practitioners are separated by the methods that they use to diagnose and treat their patients,“ said the statement.
