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The Place of Traditional Medicine in the African Society: The Science, Acceptance and Support

Received: 15 January 2014     Published: 10 March 2014
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Abstract

Traditional medicine (TM) has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the surest alternative means to achieve total health care coverage of the world’s population. In most African societies, traditional medicine plays an important role in the lives of millions who cannot access western medicine. In some areas, TM is part of the first set of response mechanisms for medical emergencies whilst in others the whole health system of the community is hinged on medicines rooted in local practice and belief. Although the relevance and values of TM is begining to gain recognition, African traditional medicine (ATM) still faces some challenges which underscore its scrutiny. This paper thus analyses the issue of science, acceptance and support for successful implementation of ATM and present the contemporary measures that are being taken to raise its standard to the level of western medicine.

Published in American Journal of Health Research (Volume 2, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13
Page(s) 49-54
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Traditional Medicine, Western Medicine, African, Health

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Samuel S. Antwi-Baffour, Ajediran I. Bello, David N. Adjei, Seidu A. Mahmood, Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi. (2014). The Place of Traditional Medicine in the African Society: The Science, Acceptance and Support. American Journal of Health Research, 2(2), 49-54. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13

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    ACS Style

    Samuel S. Antwi-Baffour; Ajediran I. Bello; David N. Adjei; Seidu A. Mahmood; Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi. The Place of Traditional Medicine in the African Society: The Science, Acceptance and Support. Am. J. Health Res. 2014, 2(2), 49-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13

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    AMA Style

    Samuel S. Antwi-Baffour, Ajediran I. Bello, David N. Adjei, Seidu A. Mahmood, Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi. The Place of Traditional Medicine in the African Society: The Science, Acceptance and Support. Am J Health Res. 2014;2(2):49-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13,
      author = {Samuel S. Antwi-Baffour and Ajediran I. Bello and David N. Adjei and Seidu A. Mahmood and Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi},
      title = {The Place of Traditional Medicine in the African Society: The Science, Acceptance and Support},
      journal = {American Journal of Health Research},
      volume = {2},
      number = {2},
      pages = {49-54},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajhr.20140202.13},
      abstract = {Traditional medicine (TM) has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the surest alternative means to achieve total health care coverage of the world’s population. In most African societies, traditional medicine plays an important role in the lives of millions who cannot access western medicine. In some areas, TM is part of the first set of response mechanisms for medical emergencies whilst in others the whole health system of the community is hinged on medicines rooted in local practice and belief.  Although the relevance and values of TM is begining to gain recognition, African traditional medicine (ATM) still faces some challenges which underscore its scrutiny. This paper thus analyses the issue of science, acceptance and support for successful implementation of ATM and present the contemporary measures that are being taken to raise its standard to the level of western medicine.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AU  - Ajediran I. Bello
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    AU  - Seidu A. Mahmood
    AU  - Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi
    Y1  - 2014/03/10
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140202.13
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    AB  - Traditional medicine (TM) has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the surest alternative means to achieve total health care coverage of the world’s population. In most African societies, traditional medicine plays an important role in the lives of millions who cannot access western medicine. In some areas, TM is part of the first set of response mechanisms for medical emergencies whilst in others the whole health system of the community is hinged on medicines rooted in local practice and belief.  Although the relevance and values of TM is begining to gain recognition, African traditional medicine (ATM) still faces some challenges which underscore its scrutiny. This paper thus analyses the issue of science, acceptance and support for successful implementation of ATM and present the contemporary measures that are being taken to raise its standard to the level of western medicine.
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

  • Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

  • Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

  • Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

  • Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

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