Doctors For Life has rendered evidence before the portfolio committee on health, in favour of keeping traditional healers out of S.A.’s health care system. In its submission DFL maintained that primary health care should be QUALITY health care and not PRIMITIVE health care. DFL argued that African traditional medicine has not (over the centuries) succeeded in ensuring a progressive, steady decline in infant, maternal and overall mortality rate.
DFL cannot see how medical aid schemes can be expected to pay for medicines of unknown contents. We have information about a traditional healer in the Gauteng area who was reported to be selling the following concoction for R500.00: a piece of baboon meat, burnt car tires crushed to powder, mixed with a few herbs, The contents of medicines for poor marital relationships have been found to contain pubic hair, dirt from under the armpits, the dirt between the toes of patients, sexual secretions (from both the traditional healer and his female patient) together with various herbs.
Though "muthi murders are always attributed to so called "abathakathi", nobody has however been able to identify them. Even though all traditional healers claim that they are not involved in "muthi" murders, they appear to be the spiritual kingpins of a religion that seems to incorporate the belief that human tissue can make powerful medicine. It is inappropriate and unconstitutional for the government to officially incorporate a particular religion or segment of the population into the health system. We are convinced that the government should not begin to grant traditional healers any social acceptance before the issue of so-called "muthi" murders has been thoroughly investigated.
The Health department has stressed the need for external control. DFL feels strongly that such an effort is doomed to failure. According to traditional healers themselves the ‘spirits’ are the ones who exercise total control as to: who is called to be a healer, the type of training, the curriculum and even the contents of the medicines. DFL argued before the parliamentary committee that if there is such control by the ‘spirits’ then external control by a statutory council will NOT improve the situation. Actually "inyangas", "sangomas" and other types of "healers" appear to be priests rather than health workers. According to the department of of health "primary health care is health care...which can be scientifically justified". If traditional healers were to be integrated, the government would be contradicting itself, since traditional medicines "can’t be scientifically proved".
For more information contact: Dr F. Kellerman at +27322 - 332709 or Dr Moses Tindisa on: