A study by University of Nairobi researchers has called for more regulation and need for integration of herbal medicine into mainstream medicine.
The study titled; Attitudes of Herbalists towards regulation and integration of Herbal medicine into mainstream healthcare in Kenya, sampled practicing herbalists registered in the various County Cultural Offices. A total of 70 herbalist association officials in 21 counties were interviewed.
These officials concluded the need for an umbrella national governing body and tighter legislation to prescribe policy on formation of herbalist associations. They also suggested the formation of a village/county committee.
Majority of these officials accounting to 51%, suggested that the Ministry of Health (MOH) should undertake the registration of all Traditional medicine Practitioners (TMPs).
According to statistics there are about 40,000 herbalists in Kenya, researchers have reported that a high number of people claiming to be herbalists are quacks who are out to make quick financial gains from desperate patients. Herbal medicine being a cultural practice rather than a healthcare profession, makes it difficult to distinguish quack herbalists from genuine practitioners and evaluate the risks that they pose to the patients.
This has resulted in several public health problems including administration of toxic substances to patients, interaction of herbs with conventional drugs, herbalists retaining the patients for long periods without referring to doctors even as their conditions deteriorate and misguided beliefs that herbalists can treat conditions that are perceived to be untreatable in hospitals such as cancer.
These therefore, calls for the need to hold the practice to account and stream line its integration to conventional practice is paramount.
According to the researchers, the most critical step towards the integration of herbal medicine into the primary health care in Kenya, is through registration. Additionally, for herbal medicine practice to be considered a healthcare profession, herbal practitioners (TMPs) should be licensed, registered or certified under a relevant law.
They further suggested that the registered practitioners should show evidence that they have some knowledge and skills to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury using their traditional/herbal medicine.
Various challenges hinder the implementation of these processes such as unknown methods of preparation of herbal medicine. Lack of support for the integration of herbal medicine into mainstream healthcare system by most of conventional healthcare practitioners.
It was discovered that the contents and preparation of herbal medicine is shrouded in secrecy by herbal medicine practitioners, this is in part due to fear that their knowledge would be stolen by fellow herbalists. They also feared that conventional healthcare practitioners would steal their ideas for personal gain and would also look down on them. Fear of strict regulation informed their reason not to disclose to research institutions like Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).
Disclosure of content and preparation of herbal medicine to conventional healthcare practitioners is encouraged so that; the medicine is tested and approved, to complement conventional medicine, to create buy-in and facilitate networking and exchange of knowledge/expertise and also to facilitate licensing and patenting.
Opening up of pathways for documentation and research on herbal medicine in Kenya is another benefit of disclosure.
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