Last month (April 2011), Christine Mungai wrote a wonderful article titled: East Africans cannot afford the luxury of falling ill in the The Eastafrican newspaper (http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/East+Africans+cannot+afford+the+luxury+of+falling+ill/-/2558/1141478/-/pbx336z/-/index.html)
The gist of the article was that because access to allopathic or western medicines is difficult, people exploit traditional medicine (TM) as an alternative. I liked the article mostly because it was concise for a busy researcher, but detailed enough and well researched (the sources of the information, mostly policy documents were included).
What perhaps the article did not address was the way TM is integrated in the spiritual belief system. Animism in Africa is alive and well (see Millar and Haverkort, 2006; freely downloadable at http://www.compasnet.org/?page_id=728). The Uganda media is full of stories about people troubled with home spirits (locally called Misambwa in Central Uganda) or nature spirits (called Mayembe). These stories are very common in the electronic (radio and television) probably because of their sensational and entertaining nature. But what comes out of these stories is that many people believe that spirits influence their lives. See for instance the story at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/17/721922 where two sisters were raped by a healer who threatened them that he was a spirit.
The implication of this is that policy makers need to take note of these belief systems when designing plans for rational drug use and improving access to health care. In part this is already exploited by the mainstream health care planners in African countries. For instance traditional healers are involved in condoms distribution.
The gist of the article was that because access to allopathic or western medicines is difficult, people exploit traditional medicine (TM) as an alternative. I liked the article mostly because it was concise for a busy researcher, but detailed enough and well researched (the sources of the information, mostly policy documents were included).
What perhaps the article did not address was the way TM is integrated in the spiritual belief system. Animism in Africa is alive and well (see Millar and Haverkort, 2006; freely downloadable at http://www.compasnet.org/?page_id=728). The Uganda media is full of stories about people troubled with home spirits (locally called Misambwa in Central Uganda) or nature spirits (called Mayembe). These stories are very common in the electronic (radio and television) probably because of their sensational and entertaining nature. But what comes out of these stories is that many people believe that spirits influence their lives. See for instance the story at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/17/721922 where two sisters were raped by a healer who threatened them that he was a spirit.
The implication of this is that policy makers need to take note of these belief systems when designing plans for rational drug use and improving access to health care. In part this is already exploited by the mainstream health care planners in African countries. For instance traditional healers are involved in condoms distribution.