Traditional Medicines’ Integration Into Contemporary African Health Systems

By Sherwin Charles, co-founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria, and Rosemary Mburu, Executive Director of WACI Health, Kenya

Rose Mburu

Malaria is one of humankind’s oldest and deadliest diseases. Fighting it has led to some of the greatest strides in global health history, yet, a child still dies from malaria every minute and half, and the world’s population remains at risk from this treatable and preventable disease.

With the international communities’ attention focused on COVID-19 in recent years, combined with rising biological and environmental threats and reduced funding, progress in the malaria fight has not only plateaued, but reversed, with 2021 recorded as one of malaria’s worst years in recent history.

Underfunded and overwhelmed front line health services and weak disease surveillance systems have also exposed the entire global community to the significant danger of future pandemics. A new and innovative approach is needed if a Zero Malaria world is to become a reality within our lifetime.

It is timely that, as African parliamentarians, civil society figures, and World Health Organisation (WHO) representatives gathered at the African Union (AU) parliamentary forum in Johannesburg, South Africa recently, that one key subject on the table to discuss is the need to develop traditional medicine to facilitate its integration into contemporary health systems across Africa.

To achieve the ultimate goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), participants at the AU workshop deliberated how to enhance the potential power of medicinal plants by optimising the use of traditional medicine; how traditional medicine contributes to improving the populations’ health coverage, and how to foster innovation through the adoption of multidisciplinary approaches to combat both human and animal antimicrobial-resistance.

Mindful of the continent’s abundant natural resources, the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government declared 2001-2020 the Decades of Traditional Medicine, underscoring the need for research into these sustainable alternatives to help bolster African health systems and the expansion of the accessibility to essential medications.

Owing to the improved integration of Africa’s strong medical heritage into modern health systems due to the establishment of research institutions all over the world, traditional medicine has gradually gained ground, offering numerous benefits for human health, particularly in communities where modern medicine is not available or affordable. The National Institutes for Scientific Research on the continent work in partnership with the World Health Organisation as well as public and private sectors, enabling clinical trials of regulated plant-based products alongside conventional pharmacology, with a view to offering modern and traditional healthcare simultaneously.

Looking at this fascinating and important topic through the specific lens of malaria, traditional medicines have been used to treat the disease for thousands of years and are the source of the two main groups – artemisinin and quinine derivatives – of modern antimalarial drugs.

Considering the grave problems of increasing levels of both insecticide and drug resistance with regards to the mosquito and malaria parasite, coupled with difficulties in rural and marginalised areas in terms of affordability and access to effective antimalarial drugs, the innovative use of regulated and modernised traditional medicine is critical. This pathway could be an important and sustainable source of treatment as part of the broader UHC agenda on ensuring access for all.

From next generation bed nets and ground-breaking new drugs to malaria vaccine development and deployment and futuristic gene drives, the combination of both traditional and contemporary tools to fight this deadly disease is critical to saving millions of lives and unlocking the economic potential of endemic countries, helping us on the road towards malaria elimination and UHC.

We implore African leaders, in advance of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78), taking place in September 2023, to prioritise health system strengthening to eliminate diseases like malaria within the UHC agenda. With public and political commitment, strong leadership, and increased investment in creative solutions, a Zero Malaria world is achievable.

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