Traditional Medicine and AIDS

Bodeker, Gerard ; Kabatesi, Donna ; King, Rachel ; Homsy, Jacques

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME;    TRADITIONAL MEDICINE;    NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS;    HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUSES;    DRUG INDUSTRY;   

RP-ID  :  23438

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The note looks at the work of a regionaltask force in East, and Southern Africa, established onApril 2000 to coordinate activities related to thewidespread use of traditional medicine, by people withHIV/AIDS in the region, and on the role of traditionalhealers in AIDS prevention. The high costs, and scarcity ofmany essential drugs, including antiretroviral drugs inAfrica, means that most people affected by the epidemic, usetraditional herbal treatments. At the same time, variousagencies, and nongovernmental organizations were leading thedevelopment of partnerships between biomedical, andtraditional health sectors. Clinical data on herbaltreatments effective against herpes, and HIV-associatedchronic diseases have been cited, as was preliminary data onherbal medicine that seems to increase CD4-cell counts,conducive to improvements in HIV-related illnesses. However,mutual misunderstanding between modern, and traditionalpractitioners, and weak organization of healers, contributeto the marginal status of traditional medicine. On reviewingefforts, the Global Initiative For Traditional Systems(GIFTS) of Health accepted the responsibility to lay thefoundation for a network of researchers, to build a researchprogram to identify, assess, and develop safe localtreatments against HIV/AIDS.