AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN AFRICA: AN ETHICAL AND EXISTENTIAL EVALUATION

Abstract

Despite the fact that African Traditional Medicine (ATM) has salvaged African communities since time immemorial, there has been a growing public concern regarding the ethical conduct of the healthcare practitioners in Africa. As such, the existing traditional medicine (TM) and the approach of its application and administration, which include lack of informed consent, harm to patients, confidentiality and paternalism, has been greatly criticised and rejected by the mainstream Western medical tradition. Ironically, this paper will reveal that most of the criticisms directed towards ATM, are also being shared by the so-called Western Scientific Medicine (WSM). However, according to the available statistic, as traditional healers are consulted by over 70% of the African population before any other type of healthcare professional, a blanket negation of TM is neither possible nor politically feasible. A pragmatic approach would be to work within the current structures for positive change. This entails that the existing traditional medicines have to be continuously improved, which is also the case with Western scientific medicines. Commendably, some African nations are standing up to the challenge, and are, consequently, attracting international bodies to their shores. This is due to the improvement of African traditional medicine through a combination of different mechanisms that include the controversial approach of scientific research on traditional medicines