Transcript UTILISATION OF HERBAL MEDICINE AND ITS ROLE IN

Prospects of the Role of Herbal Medicine in
Achieving the Millennium Development Goals
for Health: Evidence from the Wassa Amenfi
West District.
Adjei, B., Agyemang, S., and Mensah, C.M.
KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMASI
2012 GHANA GEOGRAPHICAL/GHANA GEOGRAPHICAL TEACHERS
ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
KNUST, KUMASI
1-4 AUGUST 2012
Introduction

Health-related MDGs:
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Develop a global partnership for development (Providing
access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries).

The Goals seek to address the world’s most staggering health
and poverty issues (UNDP, 2010).

Meeting the goals would produce a healthier, and more
economically sound world.

Ghana’s health-related MDG targets are still far from being
realised because of numerous problems bedevilling the health
care sector.

Most households and individuals use herbal medicines, either
as complementary or even first line treatment for their
ailments (Lucas, 2010).
Proportion of use of herbal medicine:

80% of the world’s population, (WHO, 2003)

80% of Africans (Okigbo and Mmeka, 2006; WHO, 2002)

70% to 75% of Ghanaians(Baidoo, 2009; Darko, 2009; Abbiw,
et al. 2002).

Herbal medicine is the first line of treatment for more than
60% of children with high fever resulting from malaria (WHO,
2003).
Studies and scientific tests have found several herbal
preparations to be safe and effective, comparatively more
readily available, affordable, culturally acceptable, and easily
accessible (Buor,1993).
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
Problem statement
The Wassa Amenfi West is beset with problems of accessing and utilizing
modern health care:

About 65% of the people live far from modern health centres (6km and
35km away).

Only 4.5% (40km) of the district’s 883.6km length of roads is tarred.

Inadequate healthcare facilities (only 14), and poor health professional
staffing (44 medical staff) in the district.

Doctor-population ratio of 1:38,841 compared to national average of
1:11,929

High MMR of 757 per 100,000 live births compared to national average of
214 per 100,000 live births.

Long period observation and reconnaissance survey revealed a significant
patronage of herbal medicine
OBJECTIVES
Primary objective is to find out the use of herbal
medicine and the role it could play in achieving the
MDGs for health by improving accessibility and
affordability to healthcare.
Specific objectives:
1. Analyze the extent of patronage of herbal medicine
in the Amenfi West District
Evaluate the perceptions about the efficacy and
safety of herbal medicine in relation to orthodox
medicine.
3. Analyze the possibility of integrating traditional
and orthodox health care systems and the
prospects of achieving this.
2.
Scope of the study
 Study is on the beliefs, perceptions and
real life experiences associated with
use of herbal medicine. It does not
encompass the use of clinical tests on
the efficacy of herbal medicine.
 Concerned
with the physical
treatment aspects of herbal medicine,
and not the spiritual.
Methodology
Study communities
Manso Amenfi, Hiawa, Achichire, Obing and Manhyia.

Sample size of 230 used, made up of
 205 household members-simple random
 10 orthodox medical practitioners-purposive
 15 herbal medicine practitioners-snowball sampling
Data Collection Tools
 Structured interviews (household members and HMPs)
 Questionnaires for (OMPs)
 FGDs Guide (cross-section of household members)

Analysis and Presentation of Data
 Descriptive analysis using SPSS v 16 and Excel 2007.


Frequency tables, cross tabulations, and pie charts used to present the data.

Theme analysis, non-tabular presentation and direct quotations used for
qualitative data.
Results and Discussions

Extent of Patronage of Herbal Medicine
Over 92% of household members have used herbal medicine at least
once in their lifetime.

All the 10 orthodox health care professionals have used herbal medicine
at one point or another in their life.

Over half (50.7%) of the household members usually use herbal medicine
when they are sick and 50.2% used herbal medicine the last time they
were sick.

Herbal medicine is mostly used as the first choice treatment of ailments
for almost half (49.7%) of the respondents, while others use it as
alternative (24.9%) and complementary (21%) to orthodox medicine.

Sources of Herbal Medicine
 Relatives - 32.7%
 Farm or backyard - 30.6%
 Herbal practitioners 26.1%
 Pharmacy shops or drug stores - 6.6%
 Hospital or clinic - 2.9%
Herbal medicines and diseases treated
Local name
Common name
Scientific name
Part of
plant used
Disease(s)
treated
Onyina
Ceiba pentandra
Bark
Hernia
Ananse ntentan
Newbouldia laevis
Leaves
Bone fracture
Mmaakube
Fan palm
Baassus Aethiopum
Roots
Asthma
Abe
Palm tree
Elaeis guineensis
Oil
Skin rashes
Gardenia ternifolia
Roots
Infertility,
Rheumatism
Peterprebi
Nim, Gyedua
Neem tree
Azadirachta indica
leaves
Fever, malaria,
ringworm, etc.
Esro wisa
Ashanti Pepper
Piper guineesis
Seed
Convulsion
stomach
purgative
ICSD, UG, ACCRA
10

Perception on the Efficacy of Herbal Medicine

95.6% perceived herbal medicine to be effective

63.9% believed that herbal medicine is more
effective than orthodox medicine.

9 of the 10 orthodox health care professionals
believed in the efficacy of herbal medicine.
Very Somehow
unsafe safe
3.4% 13.7%

Safe
37.6%
Very safe
45.4%
72.7% disagreed with the statement that herbal medicine is dangerous
to human health
Reasons for disagreeing
 Natural - 56.7%
 Relatively longer life - 30%
 Experienced no side effects - 13.3%

A farmer in the men focus group:
“I do not think this is true at all. Our forefathers depended on herbal
medicine only, which is made by God (natural) and they lived longer than
the current generation who mostly rely on orthodox medicine.”
Reasons for use of Herbal Medicine
Reason
Frequency
Percentage (%)
More effective
90
44
Less costly
51
25
Easily accessible
47
22.8
In line with tradition
11
5.4
Other
6
2.7
Total
205
100
Source: Field study, 2011
A teacher from the formally educated focus group had this to say:
‘’... I think herbal medicines are cheaper. For instance, I pay GHC2.OO for only malaria
injection ... Meanwhile I can boil some tea leaves and the bark of Neem tree and drink
without paying for it’’
Interactions
between Herbal Practitioners
and Orthodox Medical Practitioners

93.7% of households have never been referred
from a biomedical doctor to herbal practitioner

86.3% have never been referred by a herbal
practitioner to a biomedical doctor.

14 out of 15 HPs confirmed patients have never
been referred from the hospital or biomedical
doctor to them.

6 out of 10 Orthodox health care professionals
revealed same.
 Integration


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of Traditional Medicine into Modern Medicine
Integration is supported by:
81.5% of household members.
7 of the 10 orthodox health care professionals.
14 of the 15 herbal practitioners.
Benefits of integration
Benefits of integration
• Address problems of health care delivery
• long distances
• Queues
• inadequate health professionals and logistics
• Improved accessibility to healthcare
• Increased health care provision,
“I think integration could be quite helpful.The reason is that where the medical
doctor cannot treat an ailment, it could be transferred (referred) to the herbal
practitioner…This is what we want for our people so that we will not join long
queues at the hospital.”- Trader.
Conclusion
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Herbal medicine is highly patronized by the people of Wassa Amenfi
West and Ghanaians are developing more interest in it.
HM plays a significant role in health care delivery by providing a readily
available and accessible, equally effective, and more affordable health
care for the rural people.
There is strong belief in the efficacy, potency and safety of herbal
medicinal plants.
Traditional and modern medicines lie side by side and not properly
integrated.
Integration of both medical systems is hugely supported by all
stakeholders.
Integration could go a long way in meeting the health-related goals of
the MDGs.
 Ways
to achieve integration
 Promotion of cross referral of patients
 Establishment of herbal care units at all levels of
healthcare.
 Training of herbal practitioners in modern health
care practices
 Clinical testing of the efficacy and safety of herbal
medicines before use
Documentation of herbal medicines and their uses
 Training of Herbal Practitioners
 Dosage and side effects,
 Branding and packaging,
 Hygienic preparation and administration,
 Revelation of indigenous knowledge, and the
 Sustainable utilization of medicinal plants
Areas for further research
Seeming mistrust between herbal and
orthodox practitioners
 Types of plants and the parts used for
medicine.
 The documentation of plants and their
therapeutic properties
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THANK YOU