Transcript perceptions of the forest and management of malarial in rural nigeria


Several years prior to colonial contacts,
local people across African indigenous
communities, including Nigeria, had
coped with and managed the threat of
malaria using indigenous knowledge of
medicine (IKM).

However, IKM was discountenanced
and became an object of ridicule under
the colonial tutelage across African
societies, including Nigeria, based on the
belief that it was ‘unscientific’ and
‘backward’.
However, the use of IKM has continued
to thrive and blossom in African most
populous country, Nigeria, especially
among local people who have lived in
or very close to the forests where the
ingredients for IKM are readily available
without a cost.
 Thus,
this
study
examined
local
perceptions
of
the
forest
and
management of malaria in rural Nigeria.

Study Area
 Okanle and Fajeromi in Ifelodun Local
Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria.
 Data gathered in 2009 with a follow-up in 2010.
An update was carried out in May 2013.
 Both communities are rich in forest resources
where livelihood depends.
 Data Collection Techniques
 Semi-Structured Interview (20), IDIs (10),
 FGDs (2)
 Sampling Techniques
 Purposive Non-probability
 Data Analysis Techniques
 Content Analysis

•
The locals are emotionally, spiritually and
culturally attached to the forests. The locals
perceived the forests as a major part of their
livelihood, identity and well-being. A Community
leader said:
•
“Our people here have benefitted from the
forests over the years. To the east and west they
are blessings of God to us. I have seen a lot of
people benefitting from them. This is where we
farm and hunt for animals of all kinds. To me, the
forest is a place where people get food when
they have no food. It is where they get meat
when they have no meat. As you can see
people here are poor. We depend on these
forests for survival.”.
 Following
positive attitude towards the
forests, especially as sources of
wellbeing and health, treatment of
diseases like malaria episode in
children usually commences at home
with herbal medicines generally
known as oogun-ibile or agbo-ibile
with most parents ignoring the modern
health facilities located within the
community.
Statements such as “everybody in this
village knows that I don’t take my children
to the hospital when they have malaria”
and that “most modern drugs are extracts
from local trees and plants” are testimonies
to the perceived efficacies of local plants.
 Almost everybody in the village is a
“healer” as reported by a 70 year old
grandfather. According to him:


“almost
everybody in this
village is a ‘healer’. We all
know the kind of leaves, plants
or root to assemble to treat
malaria either in children or
adult”.

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The most frequently mentioned plants and
leaves were:
Dogonyaro (Azadirachta indica);
Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citrates);
Akintola (Chromolaena odorata);
Cashew leaves and nuts (Anacardium
occidentale);
Pawpaw (Carica papaya);
Mango leaves, orange leaves; and
Panseke.

Reports have shown that of the 34
African countries that have updated
their national drug formularies to reflect
WHO’s
recommendations
of
the
Artemisinin-based
Combination
Therapies (ACTs) (Stratton et al. 2008:
859), only eleven of them are distributing
ACTs through the public health sector one on which many people depend
(WHO, 2010: xi).
 Therefore,
since it seems that the
modern health care system has
failed to deal with the problem of
malaria
adequately,
evidence
available suggests that IKM might
hold the key to affordable, cheaper
and better alternative therapies to
malaria treatment in developing
countries like Nigeria which needs to
be explored and not ignored.