|
This conference was attended by 550 persons from five continents. Representatives from traditional medicine organizations, research and academic institutions, physicians, journalists, policy makers and persons living with HIV/AIDS composed the working group which addressed the multiple issues of the involvement and role of traditional healers in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
A REPORT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEDICINAL PLANTS,
& COMMUNITIES IN AFRICA
The conference was generously supported by UNAIDS, the Commonwealth Foundation, the World Bank and other sponsors. The conference took place at the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, from 16-19 May 2000 as an official parallel session to the Fifth Conference of Parties (COP-5) to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Narrative Report on Attendance at the PROMETRA Workshop for Traditional Healers
This report is intended to fulfill the obligations between Quinton Fredericks and the Institute for International Education in respect of the contractual agreement entered into. It not an exhaustive account of all the proceedings of the aforementioned events but will reflect my observations, opinions and biases as they are presented.
African Medicinal and Indigenous Food Plants and The Role Of Traditional Medicine In Health Care -
The symposium on African medicinal and indigenous food plants and the role of traditional medicine in health care was held at the Science Education Centre of the University of Swaziland, Kwaluseni from 4 – 6 October, 1999. The symposium was
organized by the Swaziland Centre for research in medicinal and indigenous food plants.
WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005 -
Traditional, complementary and alternative medicines attract the full spectrum of reactions from uncritical enthusiasm to uninformed skepticism. Yet use of traditional medicine (TM) remains widespread in developing countries, while use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing rapidly in developed countries. In many parts of the world, policy-makers, health professionals and the public are wrestling with questions about the safety, efficacy, quality, availability, preservation and further development of this type of health care. It is therefore timely for WHO to define its role in TM/CAM by developing a strategy to address issues of policy, safety, efficacy, quality, access and rational use of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine.
WHO Strategic Plan
Coumba Lamba, USA -
An African Traditional Healing Ceremony, held in gathering Native Americans. Coumba Lamba USA was a culmination of trends in the health care arena to learn more
about ancient and traditional healing practices from other cultures. This desire reflected an increasing interest in delving into healing paradigms beyond the purely curative ones. By bringing together African and Native American healers, Coumba Lamba USA inaugurated a trend to unite traditional knowledge practitioners and advocates from different parts of the world. This development will have significant ramifications as the world strives to meet the health care challenges of the new millennium.
WHO
Guidelines on Developing Consumer Information on Proper Use of
Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine
-The use of traditional medicine (TM) and complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM) has increased significantly over the past few
years. However, as recent reports have shown, in addition to the many
benefits there are also risks associated with the different types of
TM/CAM. Although consumers today have widespread access to various
TM/CAM treatments and therapies, they often do not have enough
information on what to check when using TM/CAM in order to avoid
unnecessary harm.
Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS
Care - The majority of South
Africans consult traditional health practitioners on a regular basis for
problems of health and disease. These practitioners utilize scientific
methodologies that stretch back thousands of years. Often the
traditional health practitioner is the first port of call for someone
sick with HIV or AIDS. An operational plan for comprehensive HIV and
AIDS care and treatment in South Africa must acknowledge traditional
medicine as an important modality of treatment for HIV and AIDS – a
modality that patients are free to choose, and to discuss with
biomedical health practitioners without fear of stigma and being
ostracized.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among
Adults: United States, 2002 - This report presents
selected estimates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use
among U.S. adults, using data from the 2002 National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Ancient Remedies, New Disease – UNAIDS Case Study
June 2002. In countries where resources are
limited, the principles of primary health care demand that all
available, accessible, acceptable and affordable resources be applied
towards the health of the people. The AIDS epidemic forces us to renew
our interest in these principles, partly because of desperate and
overwhelming needs, but also because of the imperative to seek diverse
solutions that are embedded within the cultural and environmental
milieu. Traditional healers make a unique contribution that is
complementary to other approaches. They also tend to be the entry point
for care in many African communities, and even more so for the complex
HIV-related diseases that frequently jolt family dynamics and shake
community stability. Traditional healers often have high credibility and
deep respect among the population they serve. They are knowledgeable
about local treatment options, as well as the physical, emotional and
spiritual lives of the people, and are able to influence behaviors.
Thus, it is imperative and practical to consider traditional healers as
partners in the expanded response to HIV/AIDS, and to maximize the
potential contribution that can be made towards meeting the magnitude of
needs for care, support and prevention.
Collaboration with traditional healers in HIV/AIDS
prevention and care in sub-Saharan Africa (A Literature Review) – UNAIDS
2000. The aim of this report was to give a brief
update on AIDS and traditional medicine in Africa, and to review
initiatives that have attempted collaboration between traditional and
biomedical practitioners for HIV prevention. There is, however, a
dearth of research actually testing the impact of involving traditional
healers in HIV prevention efforts. Most reports—even evaluation
reports—often state only achievements and findings. This review first
looked as broadly as possible at all interventions involving traditional
healers in HIV/AIDS prevention and care in sub-Saharan Africa. Eight
projects that most closely met UNAIDS Best Practice criteria (effective
and ethical interventions that are efficient,
sustainable, and relevant for HIV prevention in the
resource-constrained settings of sub-Saharan Africa) were then selected
and compared.
Indigenous Knowledge: Local Pathways to Global
Development. In 1998, the World Bank launched the
Indigenous Knowledge for Development Program to help learn from
community-based knowledge systems and development practices, and to
incorporate them into Bank-supported programs. A core activity was
the publication and dissemination of a series of IK Notes, where
development practitioners report on successful local solutions for local
development problems. This publication, marking half a decade of
the IK program, is a collection of 60 such narratives.
Trade Related Agenda, Development and Equity - In 1998,
the South Centre, with funding support from the TCDC Unit of the
UNDP,initiated a project to monitor and analyse the work of WTO from the
perspective of developing countries. Recognizing the limited human and
financial resources available to the project, it focuses on selected
issues in the WTO identified by a number of developing countries as
deserving of priority attention. As anticipated, the project has helped
in establishing a medium-term work programme by the South Centre on
issues related to international trade and development, which includes
several sub-projects on specific WTO Agreements/issues.
| 
