Traditional Knowledge for Health

• Forschungsstelle: DEZA
• Projektnummer: 7F-05949.01
• Projekttitel Englisch: Traditional Knowledge for Health

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

Traditional Knowledge for Health
Traditional Medecines Practices
Health Sector
Ministry for Health
Tanzania

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

With this new project SDC will support the efforts of the Government of Tanzania to better use the resources of Traditional Knowledge for the achievement of the health related Millennium Development Goals. This project aims to contribute to the regulation and promotion of traditional knowledge and traditional practices, in view of an improved collaboration with the formal Tanzanian health sector.

Traditional medicine practices continue to play a very important role in rural and urban areas because they are accessible geographically (dense network of traditional healers close to the people), culturally (explanatory system culturally adapted and accepted) and socially (flexible retribution for the services). Traditional Knowledge can contribute to reduce health risks and improve the wellbeing of people, but it is crucial to ensure that the traditional healers provide quality services and do not claim unfounded results or promote potentially harmful practices. Traditional healers work mostly in the informal sector, with no clear regulations, registration and control. The Ministry of Health wants to acknowledge and regulate the traditional medical practice in order to strengthen the positive aspects and prevent the abuses. A regulated traditional sector will have the potential to offer complementary services and to cooperate with the bio-medical system.

At policy level SDC will support the Traditional Medicine Section within the Ministry of Health and the Traditional and Alternative Health Practitioners Council for the development of instruments which will enable them to play their respective regulatory role. SDC will contribute to the reinforcement of a national traditional Healers Association and of the Institute of Traditional Medicine for the promotion of good practices. SDC will support the dissemination of simple healing recipes and health advice through a Handbook for Home Based Care to be developed by community groups and health care practitioners (incl. bio-medical as well as traditional healers and birth attendants).

Projektziele (Englisch)

The overall goal of the project is: the contribution of traditional knowledge to the wellbeing of Tanzanians is increased through improved practices in terms of quality and safety.

The general objective is to contribute to the promotion and regulation of traditional knowledge and practices, and improve the collaboration between the traditional and the formal Tanzanian health sector.

By the end of the first phase, the following specific outcomes are expected:

• The finalisation of the National Strategic Plan will have built up a broad coalition of health related stakeholders at national level. Thanks to this National Strategic Plan the Traditional Medicine Section will become more a party to the policy decisions of the Ministry and contribute to the recognition of the role of traditional knowledge in health.
• Thanks to SDC support to the Council a system of regulation and registration of traditional medicine will be in place. This registration and regulation system foresees an crucial role for professional organisations. SDC support will strengthen CHAWATIATA (the only nation-wide organisation of traditional healer and birth attendant) and allow them to fulfil the mandate of the Council. 
• With SDC support for standardisation, the work of the researchers from the Institute of Traditional Medicine on traditional herbal remedies will gain recognition and raise the interest of the private sector.
• Thanks to the First Aid Traditional Handbook the people involved in Home based care will dispose of proven recipes and quality advice to improve the quality of their work. The role of traditional knowledge, particularly in reproductive health and in its gender dimension, will be documented and analysed. Further potential contribution of the traditional sector to health improvements will be identified. All information and experiences made at the different levels will be collected, analyzed and discussed with the concerned health authorities.