Your Death might be the Next Statistic!

The Bigger Questions About Healthcare in Africa

Antivenom is the medicine used to treat snakebites. Without it, certain types of snake venom can stop breathing and cause death within hours. Her passing reopened a painful question many have asked repeatedly: why do preventable deaths still happen?

I'm borrowing a page from the tragic death of Ifunanya Nwangene, a 26-year-old Nigerian singer, who died after being bitten by a snake in her flat in Abuja on the 31st of January 2026.

Snakbite First Aid

Her death quickly sparked national outrage around one major issue: Was antivenom available?

This is not a controversial piece.

It is about a conversation I had with a friend, which challenged me.

The Conversation That Sparked This Article

My friend said something that made me uncomfortable as a healthcare professional.

That conversation birthed this article.

“What if she had gone to a traditional healer immediately? Could they have saved her?”

He wasn’t attacking hospitals or rejecting modern medicine. He was asking about access, speed, cost, empathy, and the reality of how people actually make healthcare decisions in Africa, Nigeria, especially.

Then he asked something more important.

“Why can’t traditional healers and healthcare professionals work together?”

That question stayed with me.

As someone trained in evidence-based healthcare, which means treatments that are tested and trusted.

I asked an honest enough question back.

“Why do so many people still choose traditional healers?”

So, I went to research.

Healthcare Seeking Behaviour in Nigeria: Traditionalists Versus Modern Healthcare Professionals (Can they collaborate?)

Can they collaborate?

Elisa Gobbo mentioned that while some of us who grew up around modern-day medicine, the sound of traditional medicine is an itch to the ear, myself included. And we cannot neglect the lack of trust among rural communities, which was suggested by Universal Health Coverage (UHC), can be solved by clever and deliberate inclusion of traditional healers into the modern science-based healthcare system in order to improve faith and trust in the system.

The United Nations sees traditional medicine as a global reality due to a lack of access to essential healthcare services. It is sometimes the most accessible and only care people can afford. 

African Traditional Medicine (ATM) is a holistic system with three major categories;

1. Divination – determining the cause of illness by spiritual means

2. Spiritualism – healing through spiritual rituals

3. Herbalism – use of plant‑based medicines and other natural materials

Health conditions and diseases are not seen from a scientific or biological view, but as natural or supernatural causes. 

Herbal medicine is a strong pillar because it is the oldest form of treatment, where plants and their parts are used to extract their chemical properties. It is prepared and given through various methods. 

Herbal medicine is the historical foundation of chemistry and pharmacy; however, in African Traditional Medicine, inconsistent dosages can sometimes cause harm.

Studies across Nigeria and other African countries have repeatedly shown these five reasons why people prefer going to a traditionalist instead of a hospital, even in severe health conditions, such as HIV, cancer, sickle cell disease, and minor health diseases, such as malaria. Also, some Sub-Saharan countries have tried collaboration.

5 Reasons Why People Choose Traditional Healers in Africa

Now you know :)

1. Affordability

Cost is a major barrier to hospital care. Economic hardship is one of the strongest and most consistent reasons for the use of traditional medicine, especially among poorer individuals or households.

Emergency medicines like antivenom can be expensive or unavailable in some facilities, and traditional care is often perceived as cheaper and easier to access immediately.

But that does not mean it is medically effective for emergencies like snakebite. But it helps explain why people choose it.

2.  Accessibility and Provider Ratio

In many rural areas, traditional healers are simply more available than healthcare professionals. Some research shows that in certain regions, there are far more traditional healers than healthcare workers per population. For example, the ratio of traditionalists to the people is  1:500, and healthcare professionals to the people is 1:40,000.

Raw materials for treatment can be obtained within the community, compared to the distance and time required to get to a hospital and be treated. Hospitals are usually:

• Far away

• Understaffed

• Expensive

• Overcrowded

Traditional healers are often within walking distance.

3.  Cultural Benefits and Traditions

In many African communities, traditional medicine is seen as part of their heritage and tradition. These practices eat deep into the family, community, and even the subconscious, passed down both actively and passively across generations.

Cultural beliefs also shape how illness is not seen as only a physical problem. It is often viewed as:

• A spiritual issue

• A family or ancestral matter

• A result of social conflict

• A curse or supernatural cause

Traditional healers understand and work within that belief system.

Hospitals, on the other hand, focus on the biological cause, what is happening in the body, and the diagnostic process. And most of the time with unclear patient education and health communication. Though low literacy and language barriers worsen this problem. That difference matters to patients.

Northwind Healthcare mentioned that these communication issues require a multi-faceted approach, which includes staff training, improved systems, and patient feedback mechanisms. Wikipedia suggests the show-me back method, which is intended to improve health literacy.

4. Trust, Empathy, and Familiarity 

For every patient-provider relationship, trust is important when providing care. In local communities, traditional healers often occupy trusted roles that solidify this relationship. 

In addition, research from Nigeria and Tanzania found that many patients feel that traditional healers:

• Listen more patiently

• Spend more time with them

• Understand their cultural background

• Show personal concern

Traditional healers are part of the community. They are not outsiders. That level of trust influences decision-making.

Trust is key

On a personal note, it shows an empathy gap for healthcare professionals and how patients of local communities are being treated, as well as a lack of policies and regulations for traditionalists.

5. Education & Health Knowledge

People who have not gone to school or never finished their education are more likely to use Traditional Medicine.

People with limited health literacy may rely on traditional practices due to comfort with familiar modalities and less exposure to biomedical explanations or guidance.

Integration of Traditional Medicine into Modern Healthcare in Africa

If you read to this point, you also want an answer to the question. We are slowly approaching the answer.

Can Traditional Healers and Doctors Work Together?

This is where the conversation becomes serious.

My analysis from the research does not completely reject collaboration, but makes me more sceptical.

In fact, some structured partnerships have worked in Uganda. An organisation called Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together Against AIDS (THETA). They trained traditional healers to:

• Recognise signs of HIV

• Refer patients early to hospitals

• Reduce stigma

• Educate their communities

The result was that more people got tested, patients were referred earlier, and community awareness improved.

Collaboration is possible, but what of other healthcare departments?

THETA is widely seen as one of the first known efforts in Africa to formally involve traditional healers in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, recognising their role in communities where biomedical resources are limited.

I'm still amazed and would like to see if other healthcare departments can adopt this strategically. I'm also curious about what healthcare professionals think about this, knowing that implementation can be slow, especially in Nigeria.

Though this shows that structured collaboration, with training and clear boundaries, can work.

What do Both Sides Stand to Gain and Lose

Thinking about collaboration out loud sounds outrageous, despicable, bringer of bad news with sprinkles of bad ideas, right? 

But it’s worth examining.

And if you're a healthcare professional, you might think the worst of me, and second-guess everything you've read so far.

If you're not, you might be indecisive and open to hearing what I have to say.

What you might think does not matter, because it's already happening and you might not have heard of it yet, or it hasn't reached this side of the world. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has a global health policy framework to guide, understand, use, regulate, and integrate such collaboration for 2025-2030. Though there is a 2014-2023 version.

In addition, a study in Jos shows that people support the idea of adding traditional medicine to national healthcare systems. 

Let us know that everything has its strengths, has weaknesses, pros and cons, and that integration doesn't mean replacing hospital care, but rather a complementary approach where safe and effective traditional medicine practices are aligned with national health priorities and public health goals. 

Challenges and Barriers

And yes, there are challenges.

Researchers explain that traditional African medicine is widely used, but there are many reasons why it is not fully accepted or properly included in national health systems. These are serious concerns. Here are 8 challenges and barriers, and they include:

1. Safety and Standardisation Issues (Scientific Validation Gap)

Many herbal medicines do not have clear instructions on how much to take. The amount can change from one healer to another.

Most herbal treatments have not been tested in large hospital-style studies. Because of this, healthcare professionals are not always sure if they are safe or how well they work. Some herbs can:

• React badly to hospital medicines

• Contain harmful substances

• Be too strong or too weak

Since there are no strong safety checks in many places, it is hard to promise that every herbal treatment is safe and works the same way every time.

2. Absence of Clear Regulatory Frameworks

In many African countries, traditional medicine is respected in culture but not properly controlled by the government.

This means:

• There are no clear licenses for all healers

• No official system that connects healers and hospitals

• No strict national rules to test herbal products

Without rules and systems in place, it is difficult to make traditional medicine part of the official health system.

3.  Mistrust Between Practitioners (Epistemological Divide)

Healthcare professionals and traditional healers often do not trust each other.

Some health workers believe traditional medicine is not tested enough.

Some traditional healers feel that health workers look down on them or ignore their knowledge.

They also believe in different ways of understanding illness. This makes it hard for them to work together.

Because of this, patients may not get coordinated care, and patients with serious cases may not be referred quickly.

There is usually:

• No standard school curriculum

• No common exam or certificate

• No agreed training system across countries

Because of this, the quality of care can differ from one healer to another. It can also allow fake healers to pretend they are trained.

4. Economic and Pharmaceutical Industry Pressures

Modern medicines are often made by big companies that earn money from patents (the sole right granted for creating something).

Traditional medicines are usually based on community knowledge and cannot easily be patented.

Because companies make more profit from modern drugs, more money goes into researching hospital medicines.

Less money is given to study traditional medicine, and this makes traditional medicine less visible at the global level. 

Additionally, the World Health Organisation (WHO)  states that less than 1% of global health research funding is currently dedicated to traditional medicine, despite it being used by roughly 80% of the world's population (noting that traditional medicine is a global reality). 

5. Knowledge Protection & Intellectual Property Concerns

Traditional knowledge is often passed down by word of mouth.

Healers sometimes worry that if they share their knowledge, companies might copy it and will not be paid or credited. Because of this fear, some healers are careful about working with researchers.

6. Environmental Sustainability Challenges

Many traditional medicines come from plants.

If too many plants are taken from the wild because of research, some plants may disappear, and the environment can be damaged. These also apply to animals in wildlife.

There are not always strategic plans to grow and protect these important plants and animals for the future, especially in Nigeria.

Collaboration without rules could create more harm than good.

In the case of Ifunanya Nwangene, reports suggest that certain snake venoms can quickly stop the muscles that control breathing. This is why antivenom is critical, and can only be gotten from animals like snakes, spiders, and scorpions. And then produced largely through animal immunisation from horses, sheep, goats, etc.

 

Beyond Clinical Care: What About Herbal Pharmacology?

Herbal medicine is the oldest form of traditional medicine.

Many modern medicines were originally developed from plants. African medicinal plants have untapped potential.

But potential is not the same as proven treatment.

For herbal medicine to be safely integrated, it requires:

• Laboratory research

• Toxicity testing

• Standard dosage development

• Controlled clinical trials

The opportunity is in scientific research, not blind acceptance. Please think about this when next you or someone you know decides to use Traditional Medicine.

Where Physiotherapy Comes In

Look forward to the series.

As a physiotherapist, I have seen:

1. Stroke patients who arrived too late, and their relatives, need a magic trick

2. Fractures that healed incorrectly

3. Nerve damage worsened by delayed referral

Delays matter.

But so does understanding why people delay.

That delay and choice might cost you your life.

If we ignore cultural realities, we fail patients.

If we ignore safety, we also fail patients.

That balance is critical.

This is the Beginning of a Series

This article is not a conclusion.

It is the start of a research-informed series exploring:

1. Models of collaboration

2. Public health policy implications

3. Implications for physiotherapy practice

Each article will unpack these themes carefully, using evidence.

Conclusion: Fix the Foundation First

When it comes to emergencies, there is no substitute for medical treatment.

After looking at the research and the realities on the ground, my position is simple.

Collaboration is possible and is ongoing. Traditional healers are trusted in many communities. They are part of our cultural and social structure. Their knowledge can and should be open to scientific testing, proper regulation, and structured partnership where appropriate.

But when it comes to emergencies, especially life-threatening ones, there is no substitute for proven medical treatment.

Snakebites, severe infections, complicated childbirth, asthma attacks, trauma; these are not situations for trial and error. They require tested drugs, trained professionals, oxygen, equipment, and systems that work immediately. In emergencies, time is not flexible. Delays cost lives.

So the real priority should not be debate. It should be infrastructure.

We need:

• Healthcare that people can afford

• Primary healthcare centres that are functional, not just buildings

• Emergency medicines that are consistently stocked

• Continuous training for healthcare workers

• Clear community education on when hospital care is urgent and non-negotiable

When primary healthcare works at the most basic level, trust increases. People will not want to delay care. They would not have to depend on unsafe alternatives during emergencies. They are more likely to survive medically treatable conditions.

This is not about choosing sides between tradition and modern medicine.

It is about understanding that emergency care must be reliable, regulated, and ready.

If we fix primary healthcare first, many preventable deaths will stop being headlines and start becoming rare exceptions.

FAQs 

Leave a comment below or ask your question in the comments :)

Can traditional healers and doctors safely collaborate in emergency care?

Yes, traditional healers and medical doctors can work together safely in emergency care, especially where resources are limited, if they respect each other, receive proper training, and have clearly defined roles.

What kind of regulation would make integration safe?

To safely integrate traditional healers and healthcare workers, regulation must be clear, structured, and based on evidence, not just informal acceptance, with the following key requirements in simple terms:

1. Register and Train Practitioners

Traditional healers should be officially registered, properly trained, and held accountable through licensing and a code of conduct.

2. Ensure Product Safety

Herbal medicines must be tested, monitored for side effects, and produced under safe manufacturing standards.

3. Create Clear Referral Systems

There should be clear rules for when patients must be referred to hospitals, with proper record-keeping systems in place.

4. Provide Legal and Policy Support

Governments must protect traditional knowledge and create strong national policies to guide safe integration.

Should strengthening primary healthcare come first?

Global health organisations like the World Health Organisation agree that improving primary healthcare and safely integrating traditional medicine should happen at the same time, not one after the other.

How do we address empathy gaps in hospitals?

Addressing empathy gaps in hospitals means treating empathy as a clinical skill that can be taught, measured, and improved, not just as a personality trait.

Research shows that empathy often decreases during medical training because of burnout, heavy paperwork, and high patient loads. And the following key solutions can help;

Fix the system – Reduce paperwork, use technology, and manage workloads so staff aren’t overwhelmed.

Train staff – Teach empathy through practice and keep training ongoing.

Improve bedside care – Make eye contact, sit with patients, use simple language, and listen carefully.

Measure and get feedback – Track empathy and ask patients how care feels to improve it. This can be done with the following;

1. Patient-Reported Tools (How patients see empathy)

CARE Measure – 10-question survey on listening, care, and compassion.

JSPPPE (Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy) – a 5-item scale on how patients perceive a doctor’s empathy.

2. Self-Assessment Tools (How providers see themselves)

Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) – Measures understanding of a patient’s pain and intent to help.

Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) – Measures perspective-taking, empathic concern, fantasy, and personal distress.

3. Observational / Behavioural Tools (Objective assessment by experts)

ECCS (Empathic Communication Coding System) – Codes patient cues and clinician responses.

Empathy Mapping – Visualises what a patient feels, thinks, and hears during their hospital journey.