Resource information
The note reviews the cultural role of
traditional healers in communities in Ghana, and Zambia, as
one of the best hopes for treating, and stemming the spread
of AIDS. However, healers rely on medicinal plants which
have significantly decreased, as their habitats are lost
through deforestation, cultivation, overgrazing, burning
droughts, and desertification among others. This has been
exacerbated by poor management of local, and international
demand for medicinal plants, and by the identification by
traditional healers, of the loss of indigenous knowledge
regarding traditional medicine, which is part of the
cultural heritage of local communities, usually transmitted
orally. Based on the importance to preserve this
ethno-medical knowledge, with the support of the World Bank,
the governments of these two countries aim at establishing a
bridge between environment, and health in fighting HIV/AIDS,
through the Environmental Support Program in Zambia, and the
Northern Savanna Biodiversity Conservation Project in Ghana.
The note describes the AIDS components, involving
traditional healers, and compares socio-cultural findings,
particularly concerning gender differences related to
traditional medicine. Although gradual, this approach is
benefiting the poor directly, with considerable potential in
treating AIDS-related diseases.
