African AIDS victims prefer herbal uncivillised healers.

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HIV/AIDS a boon to `muthi' brewmasters HERBAL HEALING | Pandemic brings increased demand for 250,000 traditional practitioners, writes Kristin Nelson Jul. 2, 2006. 01:00 AM KRISTIN NELSON SPECIAL TO THE STAR Relevant excerpts: Although a health disaster, the HIV/AIDS pandemic presents economic opportunity in South Africa. The country is home to an estimated 250,000 traditional healers, and their ranks are growing. Pamphleteers advertising

the services of healers able to cure anything from tuberculosis to a bad-hair day are common on the streets of central Durban and Johannesburg. Some of the healers, tucked away in dilapidated office buildings, sell their AIDS "cures" to desperate clients at steep prices. Their activities were part of what prompted the government to enact the Traditional Health Practitioners Act, a 2004 law that regulates healers and attempts to integrate them into the formal health-care system. Eventually, the law will see healers paying taxes, writing valid sick notes and submitting insurance claims. However, its primary objective is to separate the quacks from the bona fide inyangas. "It is important to protect our people because there are charlatans out there," says Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge. "At the same time, we recognize that there are people who are genuine, who have gone through the training." Today, according to government figures, about 70 per cent of South Africans consult traditional healers. The practitioners are often prominent figures in their communities and function as primary health-care providers in under-served areas. Traditional healers are not perceived as the poor cousins of conventional physicians. Many South

Africans make a conscious decision to spend money for traditional treatments, even when they have access to "modern" medicine. The World Health Organization reports a substantial majority of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa first use traditional medicines but seek out doctors if the ailment endures. The line between tradition and modernity is increasingly difficult to distinguish as South Africa's healers rapidly professionalize and their lobby groups become increasingly politicized and media-savvy in lobbying for their interests. The national co-ordinator of one of the largest professional associations — the Traditional Healers Organization — decries international agencies'

"obsession" with making antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) available to Africans. "People should not be bombarded with only one form of treatment as though it's the only treatment that we have available," argues Pepsile Maseko from her office in Hillbrow, a Johannesburg neighbourhood better known for car-jacking than traditional healing. "We fought for democracy in this country — now let us enjoy those fruits of democracy, let us have the right to choose." Although the law actually forbids healers from treating people with either HIV/AIDS or cancer, a few high-profile South Africans have made headlines by deciding to spurn ARVs for solely traditional

remedies. "That is a very good choice; there is nothing wrong with that," says Maseko. "Some people are happy with their `uncivilized' medicines." Researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal are in the midst of clinical trials to assess some traditional remedies. "We are doing all we can to clinically and scientifically validate some of these herbs," Dr. Nceba Gqaleni, dean of the university's medical school. "I think there might be hope." Gqaleni says traditional healers and their muthis might fill in a

"treatment gap" left by Western medicine. Although access to ARVs is slowly becoming a reality for HIV-infected South Africans, they are only prescribed when a patient's immune system has fallen below a certain point. Doctors have little to offer in between HIV diagnosis and the prescription of ARVs. The university is also involved in a program to train healers in HIV prevention, counselling and care. More than 300 healers have taken part thus far, learning about disease pathology, hygiene and record-keeping. But the learning is not all one-way, says Gqaleni. "There is something to learn from healers," he says. "They offer hope, trust and empathy — things that lack in our profession." Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For information please contact us using our webmaster form.

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