Stuart Hess
In 10 years’ time traditional herbalists, faith healers and bone throwers could be examining patients who are admitted to public hospitals.
In terms of new proposals before government, traditional healers will have to register with an association, which could eventually see them plying their trade at institutions such as Groote Schuur, Chris Hani Baragwanath or King Edward VIII.
It is still unclear if the proposed association will fall under the authority of the Medical Association of South Africa or be totally independent. There are currently more than 200 000 traditional healers operating in South Africa as opposed to 23 000 allopathic (Western) doctors. For many South Africans traditional healers provide the first point of medical contact.
They are interwoven into the society, both culturally and spiritually. Many health researchers view traditional healers as an untapped resource as they can educate people about all aspects of preventable diseases, especially in rural areas where healers are often the first to be consulted. It is believed that the trade in traditional medicine is worth nearly R2,3-billion per year.
There is a great deal of division among traditional healers about whether they should be integrated into the health system or establish an independent association.
The head of the Traditional Healers Organisation, Nhlavana Maseko, believes the sectors should continue to operate separately. “This traditional system is an indigenous one which is totally different from the modern system, so the two cannot be integrated,” says Maseko. “We want to establish the traditional system parallel to the modern system.”
The Traditional Healers Organisation says it represents more than 180 000 traditional healers from South Africa and a number of neighbouring countries including Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Maseko ideally wants to see the two sectors referring patients to each other.
This view is shared by the president of the National Traditional Healers Association of South Africa, Patience Koloko. However, Koloko wants traditional healers to be incorporated into the South African Interim Medical and Dental Council (SAIMDC) as this would provide them with more benefits, such as recognition from hospitals and other doctors.
“Because we are not part of the SAIMDC we can’t work in hospitals and our patients cannot receive medical treatment from us there,” says Koloko.
The president of the Traditional Doctors, Herbalists and Spiritual Healers Association, Phillip Kubukeli, believes traditional healers are not taken seriously and any attempt at drawing up legislation which will ensure their recognition should be accelerated.
“We do refer patients to hospitals because there are diseases we cannot cure. However, when doctors cannot heal something they make no attempt to contact traditional healers,” says Kubukeli.
He accused Western medical bodies such as the World Health Organisation of acting selfishly as they do not share the results of research done on substances provided to them by the traditional healers.
A researcher at the Medical Research Council, Tony Mbewu, says both sectors should learn to work together as there is a lot they could learn from each other. “Traditional healers have always conducted their practice remembering that the mind, body and soul are intertwined,” says Mbewu. “Western medicine had to rediscover these factors and study how the environment, [the mind], spirituality and family influence one’s health.”
Many observers believe the implementation of primary health care will see residents in rural areas being referred between doctors and traditional healers.