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Dumisani Nsingo, Business Reporter
ONE of the country’s leading herbal medicines manufacturer, Musimboti Traditional Science and Technology Institute, has started marketing its products at a number of retail outlets in Bulawayo.
Musimboti Traditional Science and Technology Institute managing director Mr Morgan Zimunya said plans were underway to market the herbal medicines throughout the country.
“We started selling our products at a number of shops within and outside Bulawayo’s Central Business Centre about three months ago as part of our commercialisation efforts. We decided to put our products on the shelves because we believe they will draw much attention there when people do their shopping and might include them on their shopping lists.
“At the moment we are only marketing our products from Bulawayo, but we are looking forward to spreading across the country upon increasing our capacity. We however, have clients from overseas that come to seek our remedies and we also supply a lot of it to South Africa. We are licensed to trade in traditional herbal under the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council (TMPC),” said Mr Zimunya.
In 2004, the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) removed Musimboti herbal drink from the market because it was being sold as a medicine yet it was being manufactured from unlicensed premises.
Musimboti Traditional Science and Technology Institute is part of Musimboti African Traditional Association that produces pills, cough mixture, eye drops, tea leaves, ointments and other medications which help the body to keep fit under the Musimboti brand.
“Traditional and natural medicines can be easily accessed and are offered in familiar surroundings and in most areas are consumed as food and this gives them an edge over modern medicines. Our products work with prescribed medication, so there is no need to ignore your doctor or prescribed medication.
“According to a survey by the World Health Organisation about 85 percent of African people use traditional medicine so they use our services because our practice is part of African culture, which is our heritage. People are familiar with the products such as intolwane, umgugudu and umganu,” said Mr Zimunya.
Traditional medicines have been used by humankind for the treatment of various diseases since long before the advent of orthodox medicine, and to this day, serve the health care needs of the majority of the population living in the WHO African Region.
TMPC acting registrar Mrs Gisner Zuyu concurred with Mr Zimunya’s sentiments stating that most people were resorting to herbal medicines to treat various ailments.
“Most people are being treated for various ailments using herbal medicines where modern scientific medicine might have failed,” she said.
Mrs Zuyu said TMPC was in the process of registration of traditional and faith healers in-line with the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
TMPC has said all traditional healers who will be found operating without licences risk being reported to the police and prosecuted.
“We are in the process of registering but we aren’t satisfied with the low number of practitioners that have registered so far despite the fact that we are aware that there are many people practicing as faith and traditional healers, prophets as well as those distributing Chinese herbal medicines,” Mrs Zuyu. -@DNsingo
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