Paving a way to effectively regulate African traditional medicines in South Africa
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Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Following the historical suppression of traditional medicines in South Africa, the
government published their National Health Plan in 1994 which made provision for
traditional healing as an integral and recognised part of the health care system, inter
alia, to establish a regulatory body for traditional medicines. Traditional medicines
were included in the National Drug Policy for South Africa in 1996. A policy on
traditional medicine was only drawn up in 2008 and is currently still in draft form.
Some progress was made towards regulating traditional health practitioners; but very
little towards regulating traditional medicines after its adoption into the National
Health Plan over a decade ago.
The aim of the study was to investigate how traditional medicines in South Africa can
be effectively regulated with specific focus on the current status of traditional
medicine regulation in South Africa; to highlight the challenges which have impeded
progress towards regulating traditional medicines; and a review of regulatory
strategies for traditional medicines in Ghana, India and the People’s Republic of
China in an attempt to identify viable solutions to pave an effective way for regulating
traditional medicines in South Africa.METHODS:
The research design was exploratory and qualitative in nature following a deductive
thematic analysis of data collected using a traditional literature review process.
RESULTS:
The delay in regulating traditional medicines in South Africa is due to a number of
challenges where the most prominent is due to a lack in national priority to
categorise African traditional medicine and to include it into the country’s national
health system. Traditional medicines according to the World Health Organisation can
be classified for inclusion into national health systems either as integrative or
inclusive. Each of these inclusion strategies were presented by the chosen
jurisdictions studied. An integrative health care system such as that used by China was found to be resource intensive in nature. An inclusive health care system as
used in Ghana and India did not require traditional medicines as an integral part of
the health care system and there were no expectations for the same requirements
for regulating traditional medicines and allopathic medicines. What became apparent
from the study was that irrespective of the inclusion strategy followed, there are still a
number of challenges that obstruct the existence of an effective regulatory
framework for traditional medicines with an overwhelming common factor of the
instrumental role government play.
Description
>Magister Scientiae - MSc
Keywords
Policy, Regulating, Primary health care, South Africa, African traditional medicine
Citation
Felix, U. A. A. (2017). Paving a way to effectively regulate African traditional medicines in South Africa. MSc. University of the Western Cape