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The team who made it all possible: (front row, l) Dr Samuel Mtullu, Tanga Aids Working Group; Dr Andrew Kitua, National Institute for Medical Research (NIMRI); Dr Dusty Gardiner, CSIR Biosciences; (back) Dr Victor Wiketye, NIMRI; Mohamed Kasomo, traditional healer; Dr Reinie Biesenbach, GRA; Ilse Lombard, CSIR Legal Services and Dr Vinesh Maharaj, CSIR Biosciences |
The power of one: Scientists and traditional healers joined forces in a memorandum of understanding signed at the CSIR. Representing them were (l-r) Dr Samuel Mtullu, Tanga Aids Working Group; Dr Andrew Kitua, National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania; and Dr Dusty Gardiner, CSIR Biosciences |
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed at the CSIR on 27 August officially sealed trust between traditional healers from Tanzania and the science fraternity.
The MoU brings together the Global Research Alliance (GRA), with the CSIR as one of the alliance's consortium members, the Tanga Aids Working Group (TAWG) and National Institute for Medical Research (both from Tanzania) in a collaborative effort to scientifically validate traditional medicines used by the Tanga Aids Working project. It also paves the way for dialogue between executors of conventional and traditional medicine to explore Africa's biodiversity jointly and find solutions to global health challenges.
The Tanga Aids Working project, named after the Tanzanian region in which it originated, is a flagship project of the GRA and is also endorsed by the World Bank through its indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) programme. "The magic out of this MoU is that two knowledge systems, i.e. from the scientific and traditional healing communities, have built a relationship of trust - a success factor for fighting diseases relevant to Africa. This is groundbreaking work and if we do it well, imagine what can happen on this continent," says Dr Reinie Biesenbach, executive director of the GRA in South Africa.
Through Dr Vinesh Maharaj, leader of the CSIR's bioprospecting research group, the CSIR has assisted with a technical research plan for the further development of potential drug leads sourced by validating traditional herbal remedies surfacing in the TAWG.
The TAWG was established in 1991, owing to the foresight of a medical doctor, to provide support to people living with HIV/Aids. "He realised that many people sought medical treatment in the terminal stages of an illness. An investigation revealed that most people had first approached traditional healers. The doctor initiated dialogue with traditional healers, encouraging them to refer patients to conventional doctors at an earlier stage," explains Dr Samuel Mtullu, director of the TAWG. The group now consults traditional knowledge in treating opportunistic infections in people living with HIV/Aids.
According to Mtullu, in his country where the affordability of traditional medicine has made IKS more popular than consulting conventional medicine, traditional healing is snubbed by religious groups, regarded as primitive in other circles and reduced to more of a clandestine practice. "Traditional healing is commonly associated with witchcraft so people do not openly approach traditional doctors. However, we have discovered that many people in power in Tanzania even visit traditional healers - mostly through the back door," adds Mtullu.
"The challenge is to convince health workers about the benefit of working with traditional healers. Our national policy does recognise traditional healers, but we need to disseminate this policy to our working cadres," he says.
The TAWG, in addition to assisting HIV positive individuals, works with about 400 traditional healers on knowledge exchange and a referral programme teaching healers to recognise danger signs in ill patients and refer them for medical intervention.
Tanzanian-born Mohammed Omari Kasomo has been a traditional healer for about 27 years and is one of those who stand to benefit from the MoU. "Through my link with the Tanga Aids Working project, I have been able to gain a better understanding of some of the diseases I treat; diseases such as skin diseases and venereal and mental illnesses. The scientific community has been helpful in the validation of my herbal remedies," he comments.
According to Biesenbach, a benefit-sharing agreement will follow as the collaboration develops.
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