JOURNAL ARTICLEAndile Sokani · Mandla Twala
International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science · 2026
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Traditional herbal medicine remains a vital component of healthcare across Africa, deeply rooted in indigenous cultural beliefs and practices. This systematic review employs the PRISMA framework to analyse regulatory frameworks, cultural significance, and practical challenges related to herbal medicine use in multiple African countries. Findings reveal that nations such as Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda have made notable progress in establishing regulatory agencies and legislative oversight, while others, including Ethiopia, exhibit weaker governance structures. The study highlights the critical role of cultural embeddedness, with traditional medicine addressing holistic health dimensions often absent in biomedical approaches. Despite the accessibility and affordability of herbal remedies, concerns about dosage inconsistencies, contamination, and lack of standardisation persist. Furthermore, uneven institutionalisation and generational knowledge loss threaten sustainability. The review underscores the need for harmonised regulatory standards, preservation of indigenous knowledge, increased research investment, and strengthened collaboration between traditional healers and biomedical practitioners. These measures are essential to safely integrate traditional medicine into formal healthcare systems and support universal health coverage across Africa.
DOI 10.20525/ijrbs.v14i9.44501 Crossref citations1 OpenAlex citations
JOURNAL ARTICLEOphilile Mdhluli · Valery. B Ferim Valery B Ferim
International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science · 2025
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This study investigates the role of traditional medicine in addressing reproductive health needs in Allandale Village, Mpumalanga Province, through the lens of social justice. The research explores how indigenous healing practices intersect with principles of equity, cultural relevance, and access to reproductive healthcare in a context marked by structural inequality and limited biomedical services. In many rural South African communities, traditional medicine remains the primary source of reproductive health support due to its accessibility, affordability, and alignment with cultural values. Therefore, by investigating how indigenous healing practices interact with the concepts of equity, cultural relevance, and access to reproductive healthcare in a setting that is socially and economically marginalized, this study fills a crucial need. Guided by an ethnomedical framework, the study adopts a qualitative approach to assess whether traditional medicine enhances or constrains women's reproductive autonomy and health outcomes. Participants included local women aged 18 to 50 who actively use or engage with traditional reproductive health practices. The findings reveal that traditional healers play a crucial role in preventive care, fertility regulation, and postpartum support, with many women expressing confidence in the efficacy and cultural resonance of indigenous treatments. However, the study also highlights tensions between traditional and biomedical systems, including gaps in regulation, safety assurance, and gender dynamics. From a social justice perspective, the research argues for a pluralistic health policy that recognises and supports indigenous knowledge systems, promotes collaboration between biomedical professionals and traditional healers, and ensures that all women, especially those in marginalised rural areas, have access to safe, effective, and culturally appropriate reproductive healthcare. The study findings underscore traditional medicine’s role and further contribute to broader discussions on health equity globally by underscoring the importance of integrating culturally grounded, community driven healthcare approaches into national and international health systems to address persistent disparities and promote inclusive, context sensitive reproductive health solutions to women reproductive health. The study concludes with a call for the strengthened implementation of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act 22 of 2007 and the development of community-led, rights-based models of health integration.
DOI 10.20525/ijrbs.v14i8.45150 Crossref citations0 OpenAlex citations
JOURNAL ARTICLEFavour Siema · Thizwilondi Madima · Justice Makhanikhe
Bussecon Review of Social Sciences · 2025
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The study focused on the people’s perception of Coronavirus, traditional health, and western health in fight against Coronavirus. Experts contend that government agencies and health officials should join forces with traditional healers rather than oppose them to successfully combat COVID-19. Traditional health care, through several trado-medical scientists seemed to be mostly patronized by all sector of health institution and the youth. This obviously signifies that traditional health which has long been taken for granted and rejected for many years has a critical role to play in making reasonable health care delivery system to the African communities. The indigenous health care system and its methods are being demonized by youth and certain scientific institutions because they are linked to witchcraft and other wicked customs. The researcher noticed that, in the twenty-first century, there appeared to be an idea of interfacing Traditional Health Practices (THPs) with Western doctors. It appears that basic health care systems were provided by traditional medical professionals in civilizations prior to the arrival of colonialism. The objective of the study was as follows, to explore the perceptions of traditional health and western health practitioners in fight against Coronavirus. The study adopted an employ African healing theory. The study used a qualitative research design and was exploratory in nature. Data was generated using semi-structured interviews as data collection instruments. The study’s finding shows that symptoms of coronavirus are the same in traditional health care and western health care perspectives as the traditional practitioner and western practitioner observe the common symptoms such as coughing, sweating, high temperature having mucus, unable to breath and diarrhea or vomiting which are the same symptoms of normal influenza. The study recommends Integration of traditional health and western healthcare system in leveraging the strength of both approaches to combat corona virus and promote overall health well-being and Future research on traditional health care in advancing rural livelihoods.
DOI 10.36096/brss.v6i4.7101 Crossref citations1 OpenAlex citations