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July 2004 - PROMETRA International members from
chapters in Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, USA, Cameroon, and Senegal
participated in the XVth International AIDS Conference. Activities
included the erection of an African village within the conference Global
Village program, presentations in the Traditional Medicine Panel of the
scientific session, and performances throughout the cultural program.
Promoting the use of traditional medicine and
alternative therapies in the fight against AIDS, PROMETRA
International’s presentation, “The Role of African Traditional Medicine
in the Fight Against AIDS” outlined the multiple ways of healer
involvement. (Traditional
healers abstract, Dr.
Gbodossou Thailand Abstract)
Meetings and exchanges with persons from many continents set the
stage for a wider understanding of traditional medicine and its role in
the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Support
and participation from TICAH – Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health
of Kenya was instrumental in assuring that the voices of traditional
healers and traditional medicine organizations were heard throughout the
conference venues. A panel presentation, “Nine Lives – Treatment
Stories of Positive People – Listening to Those Who Live It” amplified
the voices of persons living with the HIV virus. All panelists were
using alternative therapies, either exclusively or in combination with
modern therapies. TICAH and the Rockfeller Foundation supported the
Asian-African Dialogue on AIDS in which PROMETRA members actively
participated.
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Trust for Indigenous Culture and
Health (TICAH)
Listening to Those
Who Live it – Treatment Stories brings HIV positive people from
Africa and Asia together to share their treatment experiences.
We do this to honor their experiences and learn from their
choices and health outcomes. Our approach is to purposely
include people with a wide range of treatment experiences,
including ARVs, herbal medicines, nutritional interventions, and
spiritual and psychosocial approaches to care. Our effort is to
be inclusive, to broaden definitions of “treatment and care” so
that they acknowledge the real lives of positive people and the
lessons they have to teach us all.
TICAH’s mission is to
strengthen our understanding of the positive links between
cultural belief, practice and knowledge and the attainment of
health.
Email:
listening@ticahealth.org
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PROMETRA Uganda and PROMETRA Cameroon transported
natural materials from Africa to construct an authentic African village
within the Conference’s Global Village. An African hut and an
African shrine were erected to increase the understanding of conference
participants of African culture, spirituality and traditional
therapies. Sessions of divination consultations were conducted by
African traditional healers from South Africa, Uganda and Senegal for
conference participants. African drumming and dances performed by
PROMETRA chapters were part of the conference cultural program.
The scientific session
included presenters from China, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, Senegal and
South Africa. Physicians, scientists, and traditional practitioners
presented the topics of scientific research and traditional medicine.
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Traditional Medicine
Panelists at the XVth International AIDS Conference (l to r) Drs Zeng
Yi (China), Putu Oka Sukanta (Indonesia), Mary Ann Burris (TICHA-Kenya),
Mogomme Masoga (South Africa) and Erick Gbodossou (Senegal)
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