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Traditional healers are key players in the battle against HIV
Liz Clarke
2002-05-30

Millions of ordinary South Africans accept traditional healers as the mainspring of health in their communities, but for the most part, it's a role sidelined in the corridors of western medicine. But times are changing. A study in the Hlabisa district of KwaZulu-Natal, about 300km northeast of Durban, which is experiencing explosive twin epidemics of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, has shown that in three intervention sites, traditional healers achieved a 98 percent treatment completion in 47 patients compared to other supervisors who achieved a 67 percent treatment completion in a sample of 157 patients. The homesteads of all 290 traditional healers, belonging to the Healers' Association in Hlabisa, were visited and mapped with a global positioning system. In all, 84 of 100 TB patients interviewed said that they would consider choosing a traditional healer as a supervisor, while 92 percent of 24 healers interviewed said that they would be willing to act as treatment supervisors. Published research has shown that the TB epidemic is being driven in part by the HIV epidemic. Dr Mark Colvin, a member of the HIV research and prevention team at the Medical Research Council, who will be presenting a paper on the subject of traditional healers at the World AIDS conference in Barcelona in July, said that the results from the Hlabisa study were significant. Our own research has shown that with sound protocols in place traditional healers can play a valuable part in the supervision of treatments. Professor Peter Eagles, chairperson of the South African Medicines Control Council, said that there were an estimated 200 000 traditional healers in the country. Among those closely involved in training traditional healers about AIDS is Nathi Dlamini, whose patient base is in Ladysmith. Through a KwaZulu-Natal provincial health initiative he travels the country spearheading a variety of training courses. It has taken many years for us to be accepted, he said. But it's good that things are changing, because we are a large force and we can make a difference. To highlight the role that traditional leaders can play, Colvin and a team of fellow researchers assessed their acceptability and effectiveness as supervisors of TB treatment in an existing direct observation treatment community-based programme in the Hlabisa district. As well as the success rate of supervision the study found that while six percent of the traditional healer's cohort died, there was an 18 percent mortality rate where standard supervisory options (health facility, health worker) were used. (Source: The Sunday Independent, 26 May 2002)

Millions of ordinary South Africans accept traditional healers as the mainspring of health in their communities, but for the most part, it's a role sidelined in the corridors of western medicine.

But times are changing. A study in the Hlabisa district of KwaZulu-Natal, about 300km northeast of Durban, which is experiencing explosive twin epidemics of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, has shown that in three intervention sites, traditional healers achieved a 98 percent treatment completion in 47 patients compared to other supervisors who achieved a 67 percent treatment completion in a sample of 157 patients.

The homesteads of all 290 traditional healers, belonging to the Healers' Association in Hlabisa, were visited and mapped with a global positioning system. In all, 84 of 100 TB patients interviewed said that they would consider choosing a traditional healer as a supervisor, while 92 percent of 24 healers interviewed said that they would be willing to act as treatment supervisors. Published research has shown that the TB epidemic is being driven in part by the HIV epidemic. 

Dr Mark Colvin, a member of the HIV research and prevention team at the Medical Research Council, who will be presenting a paper on the subject of traditional healers at the World AIDS conference in Barcelona in July, said that the results from the Hlabisa study were significant. Our own research has shown that with sound protocols in place traditional healers can play a valuable part in the supervision of treatments.

Professor Peter Eagles, chairperson of the South African Medicines Control Council, said that there were an estimated 200 000 traditional healers in the country. Among those closely involved in training traditional healers about AIDS is Nathi Dlamini, whose patient base is in Ladysmith. Through a KwaZulu-Natal provincial health initiative he travels the country spearheading a variety of training courses.  

It has taken many years for us to be accepted, he said. But it's good that things are changing, because we are a large force and we can make a difference. 

To highlight the role that traditional leaders can play, Colvin and a team of fellow researchers assessed their acceptability and effectiveness as supervisors of TB treatment in an existing direct observation treatment community-based programme in the Hlabisa district.

As well as the success rate of supervision the study found that while six percent of the traditional healer's cohort died, there was an 18 percent mortality rate where standard supervisory options (health facility, health worker) were used.  (Source: The Sunday Independent, 26 May 2002)

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