Such collaboration between Western and Traditional medicine, I can say, has been long overdue if we consider the fruitful results and immense benefits that can and should flow from it. So I congratulate the WHO and all those willing to give support and partnership to this medical and health endeavour.
This is good news because it will soon be discovered that whereas conventional medicine takes effect after a long period, most traditional African treatment take a relatively much shorter time or even three days. How this works, is what I hope we can all begin to discover together. In traditional medicine, we can find genuine and effective remedies for diabetes, ulcer, piles, hypertension, reproductive problems and many more. And all cures are workable within a short period of days. Research is also good to keep everyone up to date and for application purposes.
We should however not forget in this partnership the importance of Preventive medicine. We should watch the things we eat or drink. These should be clean, hygienic and healthy in every way. They should also be well prepared. In the same way things that enter our bodies through the body's openings should be watched. The air we breathe through the nostrils should not be polluted, contaminated and full of germs. We should avoid taking in through the nose any harmful substances, e.g. sniffing cocaine and other harmful products. We should avoid introducing through our skins things like needles for injecting in harmful drugs. We should not take in cigarette smoke or marijuana though the mouth. We should guard strictly against taking in sexually transmitted diseases such as syphillis, gonorrhea, and HIV/AIDS. This is the importance of prevention. As the saying goes, 'Prevention is better than cure'. My tradition also advocates strongly to prevent rather than later fight to cure a disease. Some of this prevention can also be avoided by regular exercise and avoiding unhealthy life-styles.
One of the things we lack is material and equipment we need to facilitate our work. For example, we cannot gauge the recovery rate of our diabetes patients. We always have to send them to a hospital for tests. I am sure this is one area in which traditional medicine can benefit in the proposed partnership of traditional and conventional health practitioners.
At times, there is need to keep a patient for a few days for treatment and observation. But we have no accommodation facilities or the appropriate feeding required. We need collaborative discussions and support in this area. Then we shall be able to achieve the type of 'Synergy' envisaged by the WHO and national governments.
In the Peoples Republic of China, India, and some other Asian countries, there are great big hospitals devoted to traditional medicine only. African countries should aspire to have similar facilities for the greater benefit of our populations for whom life expectancy is still comparatively low.
I wish to commend the WHO and our own Department of State for Health for promoting and spear-heading this programme." Meanwhile Wagne could be reached on: 7048814.
This article was first published by The Point in Sep. 2008
