The challenges facing the use of plants as medicine in Uganda are enormous. Growing up in Masindi district in western Uganda for close to ten years before coming to America, I had first accounts with some of the pressing issues that hinder the use of medicinal plants. During my research in January 2010 I found out that the situation was not getting any better. The summaries below highlight some of the issues at hand;
Deforestation is the biggest monster. The population of Uganda is increasing very rapidly. As of now, it is estimated to be around 32 million. This has resulted into clearing forests for settlement, charcoal, farming, among others, which in turn has led to the loss of many diverse plants. Additionally, government programs on urbanization and modernization of agriculture has eaten part of the remaining forests. Notably, Namanve industrial centre used to be a forest reserve; BIDCO Vegetable Oil Company has and is still replacing huge chunks of natural forests on the island on Lake Victoria with oil palm.
Modern medicine or the so called “western” medicine has had a major impact on local traditional medicine in Uganda. The transition from local to modern medicine has been a little slow given that there are not many health centers closer to the people. However, many people now prefer to go to the hospital rather than be treated at home with local medicine, majority of which are herbs.
It’s not surprising that religious beliefs have influenced the decision to use herbal medicine. Some people I interviewed told me of cases where some Christians especially from the Pentecostal churches have rejected herbal medicine because they believe it is satanic. This is mainly because traditional healers (locally referred to as witch doctors) use herbs in addition to ancestral power to treat their patients. The confusion, however, has always been between witch doctors and herbalists.
Another important concern about using plants as medicine in Uganda is dosage. This is a big problem. The working of the medicine depends on how much is taken in. In most cases, it is tough to ascertain the severity of an illness and how much dosage is required. As a result, dosage is determined depending on age, signs and symptoms, which is very inaccurate. Moreover, the extracts are usually crude and impure.
Furthermore, people who have the knowledge of herbal medicine tend to keep it as secret. They are very skeptical giving away the information to other people thinking that people could make money out of that. The knowledge is rarely shared with friends or any other people outside the family. This attitude has made it difficult for researchers to compile information on herbal medicine in Uganda. I encountered this problem while on tour of Hoima district in western Uganda. A village woman known for practicing herbal medicine for many years turned down my interview. I convinced her that it was for study purpose only but that fell on deaf ears.
I also made the following observations during my short period of research:
Most people use both local herbs and modern medicine to treat illnesses. There is no total reliance on either of the two. Herbal medicine is usually used to treat common illnesses such as headache, malaria, ulcers, skin disease, cough, fever, stomachache, diarrhea, and syphilis. There are many herbal research centers around the country, mainly concentrated in towns. These herbal centers have doctors who use herbal medicine to treat illnesses mentioned above including hypertension, hernia, gonorrhea and many others.
Environmentalists and the local people of Uganda as well as the government have been on the fore front in the fight to save natural forests. There is wide sensitization on planting trees in the country to overcome climate change and benefit from forest resources which includes their herbal value.
Herbal medicine is practiced more in the villages than in towns. The major reason is that hospitals and clinics are located mainly in towns, far from the villagers.
The use of products with herbal value is very much emphasized. Plants with medicinal value are incorporated in foods, lotions, and hair products.
One disease can be treated by different kind of plants and some plants are used to treat more than one disease. Some diseases require a combination of plants rather than just a single plant. Also I noticed that in most cases different tribes use different plants to treat diseases. However, there are some illnesses that are treated by the same plants across the different tribes.
Deforestation is the biggest monster. The population of Uganda is increasing very rapidly. As of now, it is estimated to be around 32 million. This has resulted into clearing forests for settlement, charcoal, farming, among others, which in turn has led to the loss of many diverse plants. Additionally, government programs on urbanization and modernization of agriculture has eaten part of the remaining forests. Notably, Namanve industrial centre used to be a forest reserve; BIDCO Vegetable Oil Company has and is still replacing huge chunks of natural forests on the island on Lake Victoria with oil palm.
Modern medicine or the so called “western” medicine has had a major impact on local traditional medicine in Uganda. The transition from local to modern medicine has been a little slow given that there are not many health centers closer to the people. However, many people now prefer to go to the hospital rather than be treated at home with local medicine, majority of which are herbs.
It’s not surprising that religious beliefs have influenced the decision to use herbal medicine. Some people I interviewed told me of cases where some Christians especially from the Pentecostal churches have rejected herbal medicine because they believe it is satanic. This is mainly because traditional healers (locally referred to as witch doctors) use herbs in addition to ancestral power to treat their patients. The confusion, however, has always been between witch doctors and herbalists.
Another important concern about using plants as medicine in Uganda is dosage. This is a big problem. The working of the medicine depends on how much is taken in. In most cases, it is tough to ascertain the severity of an illness and how much dosage is required. As a result, dosage is determined depending on age, signs and symptoms, which is very inaccurate. Moreover, the extracts are usually crude and impure.
Furthermore, people who have the knowledge of herbal medicine tend to keep it as secret. They are very skeptical giving away the information to other people thinking that people could make money out of that. The knowledge is rarely shared with friends or any other people outside the family. This attitude has made it difficult for researchers to compile information on herbal medicine in Uganda. I encountered this problem while on tour of Hoima district in western Uganda. A village woman known for practicing herbal medicine for many years turned down my interview. I convinced her that it was for study purpose only but that fell on deaf ears.
I also made the following observations during my short period of research:
Most people use both local herbs and modern medicine to treat illnesses. There is no total reliance on either of the two. Herbal medicine is usually used to treat common illnesses such as headache, malaria, ulcers, skin disease, cough, fever, stomachache, diarrhea, and syphilis. There are many herbal research centers around the country, mainly concentrated in towns. These herbal centers have doctors who use herbal medicine to treat illnesses mentioned above including hypertension, hernia, gonorrhea and many others.
Environmentalists and the local people of Uganda as well as the government have been on the fore front in the fight to save natural forests. There is wide sensitization on planting trees in the country to overcome climate change and benefit from forest resources which includes their herbal value.
Herbal medicine is practiced more in the villages than in towns. The major reason is that hospitals and clinics are located mainly in towns, far from the villagers.
The use of products with herbal value is very much emphasized. Plants with medicinal value are incorporated in foods, lotions, and hair products.
One disease can be treated by different kind of plants and some plants are used to treat more than one disease. Some diseases require a combination of plants rather than just a single plant. Also I noticed that in most cases different tribes use different plants to treat diseases. However, there are some illnesses that are treated by the same plants across the different tribes.
