Modern Medicine Man

Chance, African spirits, or some other force crossed my paths with an American psychologist, Jamie Fish, who is working with and studying traditional healers in Uganda. Ms. Fish invited me, quite literally, into the forest to teach and learn with these healers. Curious, I did so and spent an enlightening time participant-observing their classes and reciprocated by answering their questions about HIV/AIDS.

Traditional healers significantly outnumber medical doctors in Uganda--a common phenomena in much of the developing world. To many, they are the frontline health care worker. How then do we incorporate them (or they incorporate us) into the care of the sick?

A pragmatic stance would be "Use what works." The rub with traditional medicine has long been proving it works. But the scientific method and traditional medicine need not be in opposition and, in fact, can be quite, ahem, complimentary. For example, the US has the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine which uses scientific rigour to evaluate these types of therapies. And, one of the current best treatments for malaria, Artemesinin, is derived from a Chinese plant used by traditional healers for centuries.
Photo: Botany class at PROMETRA Traditional Medicine Training, Research, Treatment, and Demonstration Centre, Buyijja, Uganda, March 2006.