THE Traditional Medical Practitioners Council (TMPC) in conjunction with the University of Zimbabwe’s School of Pharmacy has launched a course to help traditional healers operate professionally and ethically.
SILAS NKALA
As part of the course, practitioners receive training on intellectual property rights and sustainable community development. In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, TMPC’s registrar Joyce Guhwa said her organisation initiated the programme to enlighten and empower traditional healers.
“Our first intake was in February this year and we had 60 traditional healers enrolled,” Guhwa said.
“The second intake has 50 people drawn from across the country. “The programme is a six months block release and the registered traditional healers will continue to be enrolled at the institution.”
She said to qualify for the course, traditional healers would have to be registered with TMPC or recommended by someone trained by the organisation.
“We use Chapter 27.14 subsection 3(b) of the Traditional Medical Practitioners Law which stipulates that the traditional healers’ knowledge can be improved to professional practice,” Guhwa said.
“We are trying to make them medical professionals whom people can visit in broad day light like doctors.” She said people were shy to visit traditional healers during the day and resorted to seeking assistance from under the cover of darkness as the practitioners are “viewed as unprofessional”.
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She said this was despite the World Health Organisation’s research findings that 80% of Africa’s population consults traditional healers.
“The traditional healers are being taught business management, which will help them to know how they should manage their operations as business,” Guhwa said.
“They must know that they are allowed to manage their profession for personal gains as business.”
“They must know the law which safeguards their operations and also guides them on how they should conduct themselves in their operations.”
She said the training also helps the traditional healers to rebrand and conform with modern standards of medical practices.
