adminThe Herald, November 19, 1980
MEMBERS of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’ Association (Zinatha) are to ask the Minister of Health, Dr Ushewokunze, to introduce a law making it obligatory for employers to accept medical reports issued by Zinatha members to workers they would have treated.
A Zinatha national executive member, Mr SG Chakara, said here yesterday his association had also decided at a recent national conference held in Shabani that the Government must legislate for the compulsory registration of all Zinatha members.
“After registration, Zinatha will require that each healer must specialise rather than claim to be able to deal with every disease.”
He said traditional healers were against the selling of herbs and charms in the streets, beer-gardens or other public places.
The Shabani meeting had been told by the association’s president, Dr Gordon Chavhunduka, that a Zinatha research centre was being established in Salisbury.
“This is in addition to a hospital that we want built somewhere in the country so our members can treat people under good and centralised conditions,” said Mr Chakara.
Lessons
The world is growing and regulation is what gives the common person confidence on any process. The procedures for the making of traditional remedies are not clearly documented and this makes the educated and enlightened doubt the authenticity of these methods of treatment.
Lack of adequate financial support throughout the system limits rapid progress in developing traditional medicine.
Modalities for establishing useful working relationship between allopathic and traditional and other medicine practitioners are yet to be clearly defined thus creating conflicting views as to the efficacy of each method.
There is need to establish comparisons of the various aspects of African traditional and complementary medicines with those of the modern medical sciences and practices so as to inform the public.
The health policy question arising from this is how traditional plant medicines could be incorporated into a contemporary regulatory framework which is both evidence-based and appropriate for these long-standing therapeutic products.
Online Reporter