Conditions for Effective Collaboration between Modern and Traditional Medicine

Abstract

In spite of the scientific advances made by modern medicine, 75-80 percent of the population turn to traditional medicine for health care. This medicine has evolved with the history of mankind, and traditional knowledge is a popular asset that is integrated into the socio-medical environment. The OAU expressed a real interest in the subject of traditional medicine during the first symposium on medicinal plants and African pharmacopoeia held in Dakar in 1968. The 1978 Alma Ata Declaration recognizes the role of traditional medicine and traditional healers in achieving the Health for All objective. In 1977, WHO launched the Traditional Medicine Programme and adopted a resolution inviting interested member states to pay appropriate attention to the use of traditional health systems.