Traditional vs. Western Medicine

Spacing Births

Treatment

Herbal Abortion

Traditional practitioners vs. Medical doctors per capita

Sources

• Forms of treatment include but are not limited to:
• surgery, dietary therapy, herbalism, psychotherapy, aromatherapy, exorcism, rituals and sacrifice.
• The mode of administration of medications includes
• oral ingestion, steaming, sniffing of substances, cuts (injection) and/or body piercing (acupuncture).
• The treatment guide used may vary greatly and depends on the THP’s own knowledge and skills, as well as the nature of the patient’s illness. (Not standardized)
• Examples of some diseases that can be treated
• malaria, stomach infections, respiratory problems, rheumatism, arthritis, sexual dysfunction, anaemia, parasitic infections, mental problems, bone fractures and conditions requiring midwifery services
• Satisfactory healing involves not merely the recovery from physical symptoms, but also the social and psychological reintegration of the patient into his/her community

• Abortion must take place before the eighth week of pregnancy
• the more advanced the pregnancy the higher the risk for the mother
• Pennyroyal: is the most effective herb to induce a miscarriage
• Parsley tea: is one of the commonest ways to have a herbal abortion
• Cotton Root Bark
• Blue Cohosh
• Mugwort
• Angelica
• Black Cohosh

African Climates Influence the Spread of Disease

Conclusions and Future Directions

• Integration of the two systems
• Follow the model set by River Blindness eradication
• Government involvement to take best aspects of both systems and develop strategies to combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB
• The health of the middle working class population will help the overall development of Africa (in economical terms)

• Hot and humid climate

• Perfect environment for many disease-causing microbes and parasites to breed and infect people.

• i.e malaria, tuberculosis, Bilhazia, river blindness, small pox, measles, polio

• Area of the world with the most incidence of disease

Abdullahi, Ali Arazeem. "Traditional African Medicine and Its Role in Healing in a Modern World." Ancient Origins. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Abdullahi, Ali Arazeem. "Trends and Challenges of Traditional Medicine in Africa." African Journal of Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicines. African Networks on Ethnomedicines, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

"African Healing:The Medicine Practise of Africa." AFRICAN HEALING | The Medicine Practise of Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

"African Health Stats | To Compare Key Health Indicators." African Health Stats Home Page Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Anwesha. "Herbal Abortion Methods That Are Safe." Www.boldsky.com. N.p., 17 July 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

"Clinical Practices of African Traditional Medicine." African Health Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Roser, Max. "HIV / AIDS." Our World in Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Tiamat, Uni M. "Herbal Abortion Week By Week." Herbal Abortion Week By Week. N.p., 1984. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Walle, Etienne De, and Francine De Walle. "Postpartum Sexual Abstinence in Tropical Africa." African Demography Working Paper Series. Penn Library, 1 Jan. 1989. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

What is Health?

Western Medicine: A scientific and policy approach to combating Disease.

History of Health in Africa

• In some African countries, World Bank structural adjustment policies (SAP) have caused decreased spending on health and educational services

• However Western medicine and health policy has solved many health problems in Africa.

Erradication Of Disease

• Western medicine in Afrca has a record of success in fighting communicable dieases.
• Measles, Small Pox, and Polio were largely erradicated in 1977 through vaccination campaigns
• Cost about 4.6 Billion dollars by the WHO
• Tuberculosis and Malaria are now reemerging problems, but there is optimism that TB can be contained
• DOTS program
• government commmitmnet to sustained TB control
• detection of TB cases through sputum smear
• cheap but effective drugs
• monitoring and reporting system installation

Contemporary Africa Benefits From Both Systems

Traditional Contraception

• Today, people in Africa use western medicine and traditional medicine in similar proportions
• Western medicine has helped eradicate many communicable diseases
• I.E. measles, Small pox, river blindness
• But people trust the traditional approach more than Western medicine
• Very limited supply of Western Medicine (i.e Hospital budgets, cheap drugs)
• Higher ratio of traditional doctors to medical doctors
• The trust that people have in their traditional system, steer them away from western medicine
• Many cases of western doctors trying to harm Africans

What is Traditional African Medicine?

• Health practices prior to colonization consisted primarily of traditional health systems. (rural medicine men)

• 1840-1860 marked a new age in African medicine, due to the introduction of western medicine.

• However, the introduction of Western medicine and culture gave rise to ‘cultural-ideological clash’ that undermined and stigmatised the traditional health care system in Africa because of the over-riding power of the Western medicine.

• In some cases African governments completely banned the practice of Traditional Medicine.
• Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 (SA)
• Witchcraft Suppression Amendment Act of 1970 (SA)

• According to the WHO, "health is the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (2,3).

• The highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being

• Overall health is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being.

• Total abstinance
• Spacing births
• Herbal abortion

• Traditional African healing is an holistic approach to medicine based on the premise of interconnectedness.

• Disease is understood to be a misalignment or spiritual/social disorder either internal or external.

• It is believed that all people are made up of many levels of being which function together as a whole; moral, social, physical and spiritual
• if any of these parts are out of balance, the person will become physically ill (dis-eased) or suffer spiritually”.

Western Style Preventation and treatment: Erradication of River Blindness

Characteristics of a Traditional Health Pracititioner (THP)?

Overview

• High standing members in the community (i.e priest, herbalist) that is open and available to serve others.

• Knowledge is acquired through experience or being passed down generation to generation.

• Traditional health care services are practiced in accordance with ubuntu philosophy which requires practitioners not to provide services for material gain.

• THPs are therefore obliged to provide health care services to their patients without demanding any charges.

• This places a huge responsibility on the THP to demonstrate a high sense of “professionalism” and integrity in the discharge of their work.

• Caused by parasitic worm that latches onto humans and causes irreversible blindness.
• Transmitted by blood sucking fly that transmits disease to healthy people
• Parasite lives in river banks that are essential agricultural life lines for large populations
• The disease and man compete for same fertile land and availability of water.
• Disease drove out people from the fertile river banks and adjacent agricultural areas

HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Western Style Preventation and treatment: Erradication of River Blindness

• What is Health?
• History of Health in Africa
• Traditional Medical Practices
• Western Medical Practices
• The curious case of River Blindness
• HIV/AIDS
• Contraception and Breast Feeding
• Conclusion and Future Directions
• Sources

• Multilateral AID began in 1974
• USAID, World Bank, and European countries provided funding
• MERCK (pharmaceutical company) provided cheap medicine to infected and eradicate the worm from the water
• African governments and civil societies spread local knowledge about the disease.
• Governments built national capacity to run and maintain the program.
• 93'-95' the disease was erradicated and 30 million people were cured and 24 million hectares of land reclaimed

A Look at Traditional Medicine In Africa

Economic Development and Empowerment through health

Evaluation of the Patient

Disease control in densely populated areas requires (this partnership of local people, government, and international donor community)

1. People’s economic prosperity and level of education needs to be such that they are able to actively seek and acquire information about critical diseases

2. Need to be economically able to afford the preventative health measures and essential treatments to keep them healthy

3. Need to have developed institutions of medicinal production on the scale necessary and essential network of health institutions to distribute medicines safely

• Diagnosis may comprise of a combination of observations
• the patient’s physical symptoms are noted by THP
• patient self diagnosis, where the patient reports their problem to the THP.
• the impressions of other family members regarding the patient’s illness may also be obtained.
• The process of divination will then involve such techniques and beliefs as the casting of divination objects, extra-sensory perception or ability (clairvoyance/ telepathy) or interpretation of dreams and visions.
• Diagnosis is detailed process

1. Orgins or immediate cause of the sickness

2. Who or what caused it

3. Why has it effect this particular person at this specific time (ultimate cause)

Health Systems In Africa: Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine

Global Funding to support the eradication of disease

• Global Fund to fight the triple threat of HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB

• Goal is to expand international resources for the treatment and research of the three diseases

• Target is 10 billion annually but currently its the fund has been able to raise 4 billion annually.

By: Vanessa Sinisterra, Asanka Ekanayake, Laterika Rembert