Volume 24, Issue 1, January–February 2014, Pages 89–95
Open Access
Herbalists, traditional healers and pharmacists: a view of the tuberculosis in Ghana
- Open Access funded by Sociedade Brasileira de Farmacognosia
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
This
paper is the result of a visit by Brazilian researchers to Ghana, with
the aim of improving understanding of the relationship between
traditional healers and conventional health practices, specifically in
relation to tuberculosis. Through this exploratory visit, this group of
researchers promoted by the Edital Pro Africa (CNPq) had an
opportunity to learn about, reflect on, and discuss the different
social, economic and cultural realities and contexts that have led to
the different health conditions and forms of healthcare in Ghana.
Besides the direct relationship between the social and economic
conditions of the country and the health of its population, it was also
concluded that there is a clear distancing, in the Ghanaian reality,
between the traditional healers and the conventional system, in terms of
culture and modes of operation, each constituting isolated systems with
little or no collaboration between them.The visit enabled us to see the
difficulties involved in managing TB, including diagnosis, treatment,
monitoring and co-infection with HIV. The majority of patients with TB
only go to hospital after several attempts at self-medication, due to
the non-specificity of the principal symptoms, and also to the trust in
the traditional medicine. Initiatives to encourage research into
medicinal plants in Ghana are seeking partnerships with developed
countries, but not always with clear or secure national interests. For
the traditional healers, there are high hopes that the information
gathered by researchers from the local universities, on the plants and
traditional methods they use, will result in affirmation and recognition
of their practices, but they complain strongly that they receive no
feedback on the research carried out.
Keywords
- Herbalists;
- Healers;
- Tuberculosis;
- Traditional medicine;
- Western medicine;
- Ghana
Introduction
In
some parts of the world, particularly Africa, herbal remedies, in the
context of so-called traditional medicine (TM), are often preferred over
treatments recommended by cosmopolitan or western medicine (WM) (Abdullahi, 2011),
sometimes because these treatments are easier to access, and lower in
cost, and due to the perception that the treatment is harmless and
is guaranteed to bring favorable results. The preference for
traditional medicine may also be related to personal beliefs and ways of
understanding the health-disease process that are culturally different
from those of western medicine. According to this cultural framework,
the therapeutic practices that use medicinal plants may also be
associated with rituals, performed by practitioners who hold the
knowledge necessary to affect the cure.
Seeking
to carry out joint research and share experiences and knowledge, a
group consisting of Brazilian pharmaceutical researchers (specializing
in natural products, microbiology and pharmaceutical services) and
postgraduate African students undertook an expedition to Ghana, in
response to the Pro Africa 2011 public call for research (CNPq). This
paper reports the main findings of this field trip, presenting elements
for reflection and discussion on issues such as the relationship between
traditional healers (herbalists, traditional healers, therapists) and
western medicine, academia, and the general population.
