Incorporating Traditional Medicine in Primary Health Care for Achieving the MDGs

Incorporating Traditional Medicine in Primary Health Care for achieving the MDGs MD Mokonoto School of Public Health University of the Witwatersrand BACKGROUND The WHO defines Traditional Medicine (TM) as “a diverse health practice, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plants, animals, minerals, spiritual, and manual exercises applied singularly or in combination to maintaining wellbeing, treat and diagnose or prevent illness”. The TM refers to those indigenous practices that generally do not involve modern medical practice. The WHO reports that a total of 80% of people living in Africa make use of the traditional medicine. The African region is hit hard by three burdens of diseases which include infant mortality, maternal mortality and HIV and AIDS pandemic. The involvement of traditional medicine practice in PHC is critical to ensure accessible, affordable, available, acceptable and equitable primary care to all people of Africa. However, traditional medicine practice is the health care service that lacks support, mandate and capacity to influence change in making PHC accessible to all people. FOCUS OF THE PRESENTATION How to encourage involvement and engagement of TM in Primary Health Care Services? SCOPE The presentation will focus on the following key issues which will apply to both Africa and few of the developing countries: * the extent of use of traditional medicine in Africa; * integration of traditional medicine into national health systems in Africa; * African Traditional Medicines and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals; * role of traditional mid-wives in African communities; * role of Community Health Workers; * towards policy frame works on the use of African traditional medicine; and * African Traditional Medicine and Intellectual Property Rights; CONCLUSION The presentation will give insight about the benefits of using traditional medicine for children, women and in HIV and AIDS as a primary care service.