Traditional medicine refers to the knowledge, skills and practises based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, used in the maintenance of health and in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness. Research open access the current status of knowledge of herbal medicine and medicinal plants in fiche, ethiopia elizabeth davigdor1, hans wohlmuth2, zemede asfaw3 and tesfaye awas4 abstract background. In africa up to 80% of the population uses traditional medicine to help meet their health care needs. In ethiopia up to 80% of the population uses traditional medicine due to the cultural acceptability of healers and local pharmacopeias, the relatively low cost of traditional medicine and difficult access to modern health facilities. They are used for thousands of years to flavor and conserve food. Relying primarily on field surveys, there have been recent efforts to assess the use of ethiopian traditional medicinal plants for treatment of various diseases including cancer. Although traditional medicine plays an important role in ethiopian society, knowledge. The current status of knowledge of herbal medicine and. About 80% of ethiopians depends on traditional medicine for health care and more than 95% of traditional medicinal preparations is of plant origin. For example, turmeric is also used as a preservative. In ethiopia, there is a long history of using medicinal plants to treat a variety of ailments kibebew 2001. Ethiopia is considered the home of some of the most diverse plant species in africa that serve as sources of many traditional medicinal plants.
The who general guidelines for methodologies on research and evaluation of traditional medicine 2000 provide a strategy for assessing the safety and the efficacy of traditional medicine. Sacred natural sites, herbal medicine, medicinal plants and their. Although traditional medicine plays an important role in ethiopian society, knowledge about the. A historical overview of traditional medicine practices and policy in ethiopia article pdf available in ethiopian journal of health development 202. This study, conducted in the rural town of fiche in ethiopia, was undertaken with the support of southern cross university scu australia, addis ababa university aau ethiopia, and the. The wogesha will see you traditional ethiopian medicine. In ethiopia, 70% of human and 90% of livestock population depends on traditional medicine. The practice of traditional medicine varies widely, in keeping with the societal and cultural heritage of. Traditional medicine has become an integral part of the culture. The history and traditional treatment of smallpox in ethiopia volume 9 issue 4 richard pankhurst skip to main content accesibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites.
Introduction traditional medicine is the ancient and culturebound medical practice which existed in human societies before the application of modern science to health. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in amaro. Herbal therapy appears to play a prominent role in ethiopian traditional medicine. Herbal medicines for the management of diabetic mellitus in ethiopia and eretria including their phytochemical constituents, asfaw meresa, worku gemechu, h. Knowledge, attitude, and utilization of traditional. The use of traditional medicine is still wide spread in ethiopia, and its acceptability, availability and popularity is no doubt as about 90% of the populations use it for health care needs. Ethiopia is also a country with many languages, beliefs and highly diversified culture. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine medicinal plants used in traditional medicine by oromo people, ghimbi district, southwest ethiopia balcha abera 0 0 department of biology, college of natural sciences, jimma university, jimma, ethiopia background. In ethiopia, plants have been used as a source of medicine from time immemorial to treat different ailments.
Improving traditionalconventional medicine collaboration. Traditional medicine in ethiopia includes medicinal preparations from plant, animal, and mineral. However, available research evidence on indigenous antimalarial plants is highly fragmented in the country. However, the arrival of the europeans marked a significant turning point in the history of this agelong tradition and culture. Moreover, this is in agreement with the result of various ethnobotanical researchers elsewhere in ethiopia kebu et al.
Ethiopian food, medicine and healthcare administration and. Given the fact that traditional medicine covers a wide and heterogeneous field of health care issues, the approach undertaken in ethiopia implies that other aspects of the traditional practice are. Promoting traditional medicine in ethi opia 197 in june 1980, the first national symposium on traditional medicine was held in addis ababa in which representatives of both traditional and modern medicine participated 46. The provision of complete healthcare service by health facilities necessitates the availability of safe, effective and affordable medicines of the. Predictors of traditional medical practices in illness behavior in. Although the expansion of modern medicine appears to influence some aspects of the traditional system, traditional ethiopian medicine remains rooted in magicoreligious beliefs and empirical knowledge from the natural environment. Medicinal plants used in traditional medicine by ethiopians. A very important book on ethiopian traditional medicine. Study on actual situation of medicinal plants in ethiopia.
Ethiopia is considered the home of some of the most diverse. E the institute of development and education for africa idea, inc. Traditional medicine in ethiopia iv preface traditional medicine may be defined as diverse health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plants, animalsandor mineralbased medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises applied singularly or in combination to maintain wellbeing. The contribution of traditional healers clinics to public health care. Alemtsehay zergaw, programme associate, communications, from the ywca of ethiopia, participated in one of these events.
List of medical colleges in ethiopia 2019 study medicine. On this page you can read or download accelerated medicine in ethiopia pdf in pdf format. Ethiopia has 28 public and 6 private medical colleges. Legal status of traditional medicine and complementaryalternative.
Pdf uses of medicinal plants in ethiopia ijar indexing. The use of medicinal plants as a fundamental component of the african traditional healthcare system is perhaps the oldest and the most assorted of all therapeutic systems. A proclomation to provide for food, medicine and health care. A majority of ethiopians rely on traditional medicine as their primary form of.
On international womens day, the world ywca participated in many exciting and inspiring events. I hope to do this by studying the history of medicine, different medical. Both oral and dermal routes permit rapid physiological reaction of the. The ethiopian traditional system of medicine is a rich source of plants for the various diseases. This diversification contributes to the people of the different localities of the country to develop their own specific knowledge of plant. Traditional and nontraditional medicine i propose to examine similarities and differences between traditional and nontraditional medicine as well as the potential integration of the two. Ethiopian people have been using traditional medicine since time immemorial with 80% of its population dependent on traditional medicines. A crosssectional quantitative survey was conducted in gondar, a city located 727 km northwest of ethiopias capital addis ababa at an altitude of. Alemtsehay gave a speech at a side event at the xvi human rights council on violence against children as a result of harmful traditional. Prior to the introduction of cosmopolitan medicine, traditional medicine used to be the dominant medical system available to millions of people in africa in both rural and urban communities. The genesis of modern medicine in ethiopia was formulated by the thoughts and ideas brought by medical practitioners from ethiopia. Plants have been used as a source of medicine in ethiopia from time immemorial to treat different ailments.
Medicinal plants have been always a complete source of painkillers since early time. Posts about ethiopian traditional medicine written by mayslater. In the history of medicine, indian, egyptian, chinese, islamic and european scholars and traditions have all added to our knowledge of disease and how to treat it. The authors declare that there is no any conflict of interest between authors and other organizations as well.
Photos 1 the biofarm project, addis ababa, ethiopia. Download accelerated medicine in ethiopia pdf document. Implementation of these priorities requires involvement and commitment of multiple stakeholders across sectors at local and national levels. Medicinal plants of the shinasha, agewawi and amhara peoples in northwest ethiopia. Publication of traditional and modern medicine research. June 2002 all images are free to download and use, with the mention. The present paper is an overview of the literature reporting the use of these plants for cancer treatment. A historical overview of traditional medicine practices. To facilitate the objective assessment of official policy, the nature and historical origins of ethiopian traditional medicine is examined briefly. Promoting traditional medicine in ethi opia 197 in june 1980, the first national symposium on traditional medicine was held in addis ababa in which representatives of both traditional and modern medicine. Human knowledge of medicine has developed over many centuries and comes from many different parts of the world, including africa. Most of these plants are obtained from local sources in the wild by knowledgeable.
Some common medicinal and poisonous plants used in ethiopian folk medicine by amare getahun, associate professor, faculty of science, addis abeba university, addis abeba, ethiopia. According to dawit 1986, 95% of traditional medicinal preparations are of plant origin. This is often linked to ethnic and cultural diversity coupled with an array of unique flora and fauna that are employed as the primetools in the fight against numerous health problems. A majority of ethiopians rely on traditional medicine as their primary form of health care, yet they are in danger of losing both their knowledge and the plants they have used as medicines for millennia. Ethiopia is endowed with abundant medicinal plant resources and traditional medicinal practices. Medicinal plants used in traditional medicine by oromo. Trends and challenges of traditional medicine in africa. Studies on the current knowledge and practices of communities in the era of modern health care expansion are lacking. In many parts of rural africa, traditional healers prescribing medicinal plants are the most easily accessible and affordable health resource available to the local community and at times the only therapy that subsists. In ethiopia, up to 80% of the population use traditional medicine for primary health care. Harmful traditional practices in ethiopia united against. An estimated 80% of the ethiopian population relies on traditional medicine.
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