Introduction
The essay is aimed at looking at the extent to which the use of traditions, alternative medicine and cultural factors play a vital part on the successful implementation of global health programs (GHP) in Cameroon. “Traditional Medicine(TM)” according to (WHO, 2015) is attributed to knowledge, skills and practices established on theories, beliefs and experiences primitive people of various cultures use in maintaining good health, preventing health issues and treating physical and mental health issues. There are various therapies involved in TM practices and this varies from one place to another. It is also called ‘alternative’ or ‘complementary’ medicine (CAM). For many years, TM has been used and is known worldwide. As far as …show more content…
TM in Cameroon was usually associated with witchcraft (WHO, 2015). Some Cameroonians are still interested in modern medicine. Cameroonians are still studying modern medicine and travel abroad to study or attend local universities like ‘’Centre Universitaire des Sciences de la Santé (CUSS)’’ ( Monekosso, 2015) though the cost of studying medicine abroad and home is very expensive and the length of studying medicine in university is about 7 years. Furthermore, many individuals still do not believe in TM. Traditional healers are also known to conceal their healing practice. They are usually cautious on sharing information about their practice, they often say their knowledge of herbs and medicines are a gift from their fore fathers performed over time and apprenticeship skills. Therefore, the absence of cooperation between traditional healers and modern doctors create a gap and continues to leave people in doubt and fear of TM. Moreso, the lack of legislations covering traditional healers reduces the public confidence in TM. (Hillenbrand, 2006). In addition before the corporation of the WHO, Cameroon government had refused to recognize TM. This created mistrust in TM. According to Tzortis (2003, cited in Hillenbrand, 2006), the head of AIDS- Cameroon Program said “Out of 100, you might only have five who are really good traditional doctors… The rest might be fake, going around saying they can cure AIDS. We need to work on this before we can embark on any sort of collaboration”. TM advocates argue that TM is associated with problems of dosages, lies, inappropriate diagnosis, hygiene, disease transmissions, and poor knowledge of the human body putting lives at risk. There are also continuous criticisms about traditional healers. (Hillenbrand,
The essay is aimed at looking at the extent to which the use of traditions, alternative medicine and cultural factors play a vital part on the successful implementation of global health programs (GHP) in Cameroon. “Traditional Medicine(TM)” according to (WHO, 2015) is attributed to knowledge, skills and practices established on theories, beliefs and experiences primitive people of various cultures use in maintaining good health, preventing health issues and treating physical and mental health issues. There are various therapies involved in TM practices and this varies from one place to another. It is also called ‘alternative’ or ‘complementary’ medicine (CAM). For many years, TM has been used and is known worldwide. As far as …show more content…
TM in Cameroon was usually associated with witchcraft (WHO, 2015). Some Cameroonians are still interested in modern medicine. Cameroonians are still studying modern medicine and travel abroad to study or attend local universities like ‘’Centre Universitaire des Sciences de la Santé (CUSS)’’ ( Monekosso, 2015) though the cost of studying medicine abroad and home is very expensive and the length of studying medicine in university is about 7 years. Furthermore, many individuals still do not believe in TM. Traditional healers are also known to conceal their healing practice. They are usually cautious on sharing information about their practice, they often say their knowledge of herbs and medicines are a gift from their fore fathers performed over time and apprenticeship skills. Therefore, the absence of cooperation between traditional healers and modern doctors create a gap and continues to leave people in doubt and fear of TM. Moreso, the lack of legislations covering traditional healers reduces the public confidence in TM. (Hillenbrand, 2006). In addition before the corporation of the WHO, Cameroon government had refused to recognize TM. This created mistrust in TM. According to Tzortis (2003, cited in Hillenbrand, 2006), the head of AIDS- Cameroon Program said “Out of 100, you might only have five who are really good traditional doctors… The rest might be fake, going around saying they can cure AIDS. We need to work on this before we can embark on any sort of collaboration”. TM advocates argue that TM is associated with problems of dosages, lies, inappropriate diagnosis, hygiene, disease transmissions, and poor knowledge of the human body putting lives at risk. There are also continuous criticisms about traditional healers. (Hillenbrand,