Publication: Traditional Medicine and AIDS
Date
2000-11
ISSN
Published
2000-11
Author(s)
Bodeker, Gerard
Kabatesi, Donna
King, Rachel
Homsy, Jacques
Abstract
The note looks at the work of a regional
task force in East, and Southern Africa, established on
April 2000 to coordinate activities related to the
widespread use of traditional medicine, by people with
HIV/AIDS in the region, and on the role of traditional
healers in AIDS prevention. The high costs, and scarcity of
many essential drugs, including antiretroviral drugs in
Africa, means that most people affected by the epidemic, use
traditional herbal treatments. At the same time, various
agencies, and nongovernmental organizations were leading the
development of partnerships between biomedical, and
traditional health sectors. Clinical data on herbal
treatments effective against herpes, and HIV-associated
chronic diseases have been cited, as was preliminary data on
herbal medicine that seems to increase CD4-cell counts,
conducive to improvements in HIV-related illnesses. However,
mutual misunderstanding between modern, and traditional
practitioners, and weak organization of healers, contribute
to the marginal status of traditional medicine. On reviewing
efforts, the Global Initiative For Traditional Systems
(GIFTS) of Health accepted the responsibility to lay the
foundation for a network of researchers, to build a research
program to identify, assess, and develop safe local
treatments against HIV/AIDS.
Citation
“Bodeker, Gerard; Kabatesi, Donna; King, Rachel; Homsy, Jacques. 2000. Traditional Medicine and AIDS. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Notes; No. 26. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/d82c552b-5aca-52b1-a695-24ba6e6b9f19 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”