African families depend almost
entirely on folk medicine. This dependence has led many medical
scholars to believe that Africa, the cradle of man, was the
birthplace of traditional methods of treatment. Folk medicine, as
well as traditional practitioners, enjoys a special status in
African societies. Traditional healing is so deeply rooted in
African societies that each family has a specially assigned book
for writing the recipes of herbal remedies. This book is handed
down from father to son among common people and professional folk
medicine practitioners. More than a third of the African people
rely on traditional healing and prefer it to modern medicine: they
believe that the medication offered by traditional healers is more
effective and provides longer-lasting healing.
Numbers
Speak Louder Than Words
Despite
the unavailability of accurate recent statistics that reflect the
extent of the density and prevalence of professionals in the field
of herb-based traditional healing in African countries, the 1998
report of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS and Folk
Medicine in Africa makes reference to the following:
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There
are about 900,000 traditional healers registered with the
Association of Folk Medicine Practitioners in Nigeria.
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There
are more than 700,000 traditional healers in South Africa.
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In
Zimbabwe there are 50,000 traditional healers listed with the
Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’ Association.
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There
are more than 450,000 traditional healers registered with the
Melango Union, which was established in 1983 in the Fatique
region, Senegal; these healers, half of them women, practise
in 264 villages.
Folk
medicine practitioners believe that nature has a cure for all
diseases; therefore, they diagnose and treat all kinds of disease,
although they are more skilled at treating certain ailments and
diseases such as diarrhoea, vomiting, leukemia, fever, epilepsy,
and high blood pressure.
Traditional
healers use powders and other forms of medicines mainly extracted
from plants, as well as superstitious practices, such as
necromancy.
A
Decline In Popularity
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African
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Traditional folk medicine underwent a period of decline and
unpopularity that lasted for three decades (from the sixties to
the eighties); this is the same period in which African countries
experienced the building of a modern state and adopted the western
civilization’s approach as a model of development in all fields,
including medicine. Many factors have contributed to this decline,
most important of which are the following:
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The
increase in the rates of diseases that spread amongst African
societies. This increase was interpreted in modern medical
circles as a natural result of the people’s dependence on
undeveloped traditional treatments.
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Associating
the usage of some traditional medicines with specific
pathologic conditions or diseases like the association of
anemia with the Apwo formula, which Nigerian mothers usually
give to their suckling babies.
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The
increasing doubts about the credibility of folk medicine; this
was due to not knowing how traditional healers arrived at
their medicinal formulas, what the extent of the effectiveness
of their medicines was, and how traditional healers could
prescribe the same medicine for treating a wide spectrum of
similar diseases.
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Questioning
the reliance of folk medicine practitioners and traditional
healers on superstitious theories, such as necromancy and the
attribution of the causes of disease to a formidable force
induced through the intervention of a demon inflicting
punishment on individuals for crimes they supposedly committed
against him or one of the gods. Such theories contradict
both the scientific facts of modern medicine and religious
beliefs.
The
Revival Of Folk Medicine
The
beginning of the nineties, or more specifically the late eighties,
saw developments and new phenomena that contributed to reinstating
folk medicine as an important and effective means of treatment for
many diseases. The following are some of these developments:
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The
emergence of new diseases such as HIV/AIDS, which modern
medicine initially concluded had no cure, gave folk medicine
practitioners the opportunity to take up the challenge. Many
of them declared that they were able to treat the symptoms of
the disease, and that they came close to providing a complete
cure for it.
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The
recognition of the effectiveness of traditional treatments by
modern medicine specialists, who referred some incurable cases
from modern hospitals to the traditional healers whose
abilities and skills they trusted.
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The
co-operation between some doctors and traditional healers in
the follow-up treatment of some chronic cases.
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The
establishment, in various African countries, of unions and
associations for folk medicine practitioners and traditional
healers, who participated in various forums and conferences,
such as the “International Conference for Protection Against
HIV/AIDS” which gathered about half a million traditional
healers in South Africa in 1995.
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The
prevalence of exhibitions featuring therapeutic herbs
throughout African capitals and cities.
A
Victory In The Battle Against AIDS
The
year 1999 is considered the year of achievement and excellence for
folk medicine in Africa and Nigeria in particular: the traditional
treatment discovered by Dr. Abalaka, a Nigerian folk medicine
practitioner, proved to be greatly effective in curing AIDS with
an almost 100% success rate. This news was circulated amongst
several news agencies, such as the BBC. According to an article
that appeared in the Nigerian THIS DAY newspaper of May 13, 2002,
the Nigerian government had refused to patent the cure.
The
cure that Dr. Abalaka (who also studied western medicine)
discovered is a blend of powdered herbs and plants. He started
utilizing this medication more than 10 years ago, but met with
strong opposition and faced legal and political obstacles that
resulted in the federal government halting his treatment
activities.
In
an attempt to show his confidence in the newly discovered
medication, Dr. Abalaka requested the Nigerian Medical Association
to refer 20 AIDS patients to him. He treated these patients with
the medication, and upon completion of the treatment, the
Association confirmed that the patients were completely free of
the AIDS virus. In order to remove any doubts about the
medication, Dr. Abalaka asked to be injected with the blood of an
AIDS patient and requested doctors to test him. The test proved
that he was infected. He then subjected himself to his own
treatment, after which he was again tested by doctors from the
Association, who confirmed that he was disease-free. This medical
breakthrough resulted in an unprecedented boost in the popularity
of folk medicine among the local people.
