Towards Decolonizing Medicine and Healthcare: The Place od African Health and Healing Traditions

Traditional medicine and therapeutic techniques have a long history in Africa for treating a wide range of human and animal health conditions. Sadly, this rich body of knowledge and other facets of African knowledge systems have for a long time been undervalued because of the undue dominance of Eurocentric mindsets and practices. But current research confirms that many of today’s medicines are derived from tropical African medicinal plants, and that traditional medicine can provide a lead to scientific breakthrough in drug discovery and modern medicine. We argue that global health science needs to integrate the he alth traditions and innovations of local communities in Africa. With colonialism and modernization, traditional medicine has come to be misrepresented as obsolete and irrelevant because it does not always appear to conform with the scientific principles of modern medicine. Many scientists and government officials distrust traditional medicine, and therefore often hesitate to provide the regulatory and legislative framework for integrating traditional medicine into the national health system. Modern medicine, with all its obvious merits, is not readily accessible and affordable to a large percentage of the populations. Many people tend to use both traditional and modern medicine in respect of ailments like insanity, and during epidemics like EBOLA and COVID19 for which Western medicine has not provided ready cure. The paper underscores the value and continuing relevance of traditional medicine and other aspects of Africa’s rich cultural heritage. It stresses the need to promote comparative medicine, and synergy between traditional and modern medicine in order to advance the chances of achieving Universal Health Coverage.