Estimated annual incomes of South African traditional healers as generated by their practices and sales of their pre-modern traditional health products for 2015/2016

Conclusion The present-day statistics cited in literature of annual incomes of between R2 billion (R2,000 million) and R3.4 billion (R3,400 million), roughly an average of R2.7 billion (R2,700 million), from the sa les of traditional health products and mixtures by South African traditional healers, are false. What is more, South African literature generally reflects an erroneous classification of who the true manufacturers and sellers of traditional health and medical products are, and what “traditional med icines” really mean. This has led to an acceptance of South African traditional healers and their untested and risky health products and mixtures based on a misconception that they are the true manufacturers, sellers and owners of TAM. The most prominent role player in the manufacturing and selli ng of traditional medicines and the true income-generator seems to be the formal South African industry of complementary/-alternative medicines (CAM). This comprehensive, well-established and prominent medicines industry has been manufacturing and marketing South African traditional medicines for de cades. They do this scientifically as a viable and sustainable enterprise. In comparison, there are the traditional healers’ unscientific practices and the medical products that they manufacture and sell outside of the formal healthcare sector. There is no sound foundation and substantiated evid ence in the literature to confirm their primary role as manufacturers, developers a...
Source: Australasian Medical Journal - AMJ - Category: Journals (General) Source Type: research