Abstract: We sought to carry out a critical evaluation of the traditional medical practice (TMP) and to review some of the ‘claims,’ the outcomes of use, and the general knowledge of the benefits as well as the safety of herbal medicines (HM) as seen among residents in the northwestern region of Cameroon.
Method: English literature on TMP and herbal medicine (HM) were reviewed. The qualitative study utilized a structured interview- proforma covering: i) Some local traditional medical practitioners (TMPs) that were interviewed about their practice; ii) The patients and their care-givers who invariably have been treated by TMPs were interviewed.
Results: This paper discusses the different traditional health care services, and newly documented medicinal plants in Cameroon. Moreover, ‘African traditional medicine’ is typically an indigenous system of health care and not synonymous with ‘alternative and complementary medicine.’ Notwithstanding the untoward effects experienced by patients, African traditional medicine is enjoying good patronage, mainly in our rural communities.
Conclusions: African traditional medicine as a holistic health care system is organized into three levels of specialty, namely divination, spiritualism, and herbalism. For the sole reasons of traditional medicine (TM) being enmeshed in local traditions, culture, and taboos make the practices acceptable and hence, highly demanded by the population. Nonetheless, some TMP ‘claims’ of successes are ‘not verifiable’ in its entirety. Finally, there is a growing demand for collaboration and integration of TM and biomedical practices as advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO); to harness the gains by all and sundry.
Keywords: Traditional medicine, Traditional medical practitioners, Orthodox medicine, Healthcare system, Cameroon.
Title: TRADITIONAL MEDICAL PRACTICE: AN APPRAISAL OF THE EXPERIENCE IN CAMEROON
Author: Alegbeleye Bamidele Johnson
International Journal of Healthcare Sciences
ISSN 2348-5728 (Online)
Research Publish Journals
