Medicinal plants have played a key role in the world health care with about 80% of Africans

depending on phytomedicine which has shown a wide range of uses in the treatment of diseases,
especially priority diseases of Africa such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, sickle cell anaemia, diabetes and
hypertension. The usage of plants, plants extracts, and plant- derived pure chemicals to treat
diseases has become a therapeutic modality which has stood the test of time. This paper thereby
seeks to explain how traditional medicine could play a major role in delivering better health for all
Zambians. The paper will begin by defining key concepts of the question at hand, thereafter it will
give an explanation of how traditional medicine could contribute to better health delivery for all
Zambians and finally a conclusion will be drawn.

Traditional medicine comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over
generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine. Traditional medicine (TM)
describes a group of health care practices and products with a long history of use. It frequently
refers to medical knowledge developed by indigenous cultures that incorporates plant, animal and
mineral-based medicines, spiritual therapies and manual techniques designed to treat illness or
maintain wellbeing (Frants, 1985). Traditional medicine tends to be practiced outside of allopathic
medicine (also known as biomedicine, conventional or Western medicine), which is the dominant
system of medicine in the developed world. In many cultures, Traditional medicine functions as a
comprehensive system of health care refined over hundreds or even thousands of years. The
traditional medicine programme of the world health organization defines traditional medicine as “the sum
total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to
different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention,
diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness (WHO, 2000)”. Orthodox medicine,
also known as western medicine refers to a system of medicine in which medical doctors, nurses and other
healthcare professionals deliver treatment for diseases and symptoms to the patients through the use of
pharmaceuticals or surgery (Osborne, 2007).

According to the World Health Organization, about three quarter of the world population depends
upon traditional remedies (mainly Herbs) for the health care of its people. In fact, herbs and plants
are the oldest friends of human beings. They not only provide food and shelter but help humanity
to cure different dysfunctions. Traditional medicine is extensively used in the developing world
where in many places, they offer a more widely available and more affordable alternative to
pharmaceutical drugs (WHO, 1996). Since the discovery of HIV/AIDS, the use of traditional
medicine has intensified, this is because HIV/AIDS has no cure, and this has led to focusing on
alternative medicines (Traditional medicines).

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 80% of the population in Africa makes use of
traditional medicine. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the ratio of traditional healers to the population is
approximately 1:500, while medical doctors have a 1:40 000 ratio to the rest of the population
(Gelfand, 1987). It is clear that traditional healers play an influential role in the lives of African
people and have the potential to serve as crucial components of a comprehensive health care
strategy.

In spite of the sophistication of orthodox medicine, traditional medicine in Zambia still plays a
significant role with regards to delivering better health services for all Zambians and the reasons
are as follows.

According to Baran (2007), “traditional medicine has little or no pathogenic resistance to

traditional formulations”. This is due to the fact that many herbal recipes are usually polyherbal
formulations, it is very difficult for any parasite or pathogen to develop resistance to it. There is
no single publication that ever reported any pathogenic resistance to any herbal formulation. This
is quite unlike the orthodox medicine. According to the World Health Organization (2006),
“plasmodium (responsible for causing malaria fever) is now resistant to Chloroquine therapy”.

Another reason why traditional medicines could contribute to the provision of better health service
delivery for all Zambians is that these traditional medicines are far much cheaper than orthodox
(modern) medicine (Sofowora, 2008). For example, the artesenuate combination therapy (ACT)
for treating malaria fever is hardly ever offered free in most public healthcare facilities. The
average cost of malaria treatment based on the artesunate combination therapy is generally quite
high, it costs quite a huge sum of money for the average Zambian in the rural and some urban areas
which are characterized by with low household income. A traditional medicine therapy for the
same ailment will cost far much less money or could even be procured for free, if the person could
collect the medicinal plants and prepare the medication personally. Generally, the cost of orthodox
medicine is increased by modern health technology involved. In other words, because the majority
of Zambians are living in poverty and cannot afford most of the modern medicine, traditional
medicine serves as a perfect alternative hence increasing the health of the Zambian people (Dorji,
1989).

Another major role of traditional medicine in providing better health service for all Zambians is
that sometimes it serves as an alternative for illnesses with no pharmaceutical remedy. (Stauguard,
1985). There are several illnesses that Orthodox Medicine has no clue on its cure, but which
Traditional Medicine can cure. One of such is pile disease. Anyone with pile disease undergoes
hemorrhoidectomy (cutting of the haemorrhoids) from the anus. However, Traditional Medicine
has treatments for it using herbal formulations.

Traditional medicine also contributes to the effective delivery of health services because it is very
accessible as compared to orthodox medicines. Traditional medicine is more accessible to most of
the populations in the third world. In fact, it is reported that 60-85% of the population in every
country of the developing world has to rely in traditional medicine. This is mainly because of a
shortage of hospitals and health centers as well as medical and paramedical staff needed to manage
orthodox health care delivery systems (WHO, 2003). In Zambia there is a shortage of medical
personnel to attend to patients. According to the WHO (2000), Zambia has an abnormal doctor to
patient ratio which currently stands at one (1) doctor per twelve thousand (1200) patients. In some
areas, cleaners and office orderlies who are not trained in medicine, attend to patients and give
prescriptions. The demand for health services and medicine in Zambia is too high and this entails
that health services and medicines become inaccessible to the majority of the population.
Traditional medicine is far more readily available and in this way it contributes to better health
service delivery to the majority of the Zambian people.

Other than providing primary health care, the natural products also play significant role in the
discovery of the natural product-based drugs. Traditional medicine is a potential source of new
drugs, a source of cheap starting products for the synthesis of known drugs or a cheap source of
known drugs. For example, modern drugs like aspirin has its botanic source which is the willow
bark, morphine comes from the opium poppy, Quinine comes from the Chinchona bark (Dorji,
1989).

In conclusion, this paper has stressed the role that is played by traditional medicine with regards
to providing better health services to all Zambian. In this paper traditional medicine has been
defined as the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and
experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance
of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental
illness. The majority of people in developing countries like Zambia depend on traditional
medicines to meet their primary health care needs. The paper has also pointed out that traditional
medicine plays a significant role in providing better health service because it is cheaper than
orthodox medicine, easy to access, it is very effective, sometimes to an extent where it even
provides as an alternative to illnesses that modern medicine has no clue of its cure, for example
the pile disease. Scientists have also confirmed that traditional medicine provides as an essential
source of new drugs. From the aforementioned reasons, it is undoubtedly true that traditional
medicine has a significant role in providing better health care for all Zambians.