Traditional healer's knowledge and implications to the management and control of HIV/AIDS in Arusha, Tanzania

HIV/AIDS is a major public health problem in many countries particularly those of sub-Saharan Africa (NACP, 2002). Like in most other resourcepoor countries, Tanzania lacks well-established care for the patients, such as provision of antiretrovirals and drugs for the treatment of opportunistic infections. Hence in sub-Saharan Africa, by implication, traditional healers treat and manage a large number of people with HIV/AIDS (Green, 1995; Gerald et al., 2000; Kayombo, 1999; UNAIDS, 2002a). Yet there are very few documented studies relating to traditional healers treatment and management of HIV/AIDS. Some of the few reported studies include the Tanga AIDS Working Group (TAWG) initiative in Tanzania, Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together against AIDS (THETA) in Uganda and Women fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) and a few individual healers who are reported to be managing HIV/AIDS symptoms (Kayombo, 1996; Gerald et al., 2000). Health facilities are overburdened by the increasing demand for care of HIV/AIDS patients (Barnett & Blaikie, 1992). It is anticipated that the number of HIV/AIDS patients attending traditional medicine treatment will continue to increase given the current number of health facilities and the limited resources. It is also implicitly assumed that the level of understanding of HIV/AIDS by most traditional healers is relatively low. This assumption is supported by some media-reported incidences where patients have been declared cured by traditional healers when actually only the presenting symptoms had been managed. Given this premise and the inherent health problem associated with poor hygiene, a situation pertaining in most rural and even in some urban settings, the management and control of the spread of the disease is facing a serious challenge. Therefore, in order to contribute effectively in the development of appropriate strategies for the control of the spread of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, a study to evaluate traditional medicine practice and knowledge of traditional healers on HIV/AIDS was conducted. Evaluation of the traditional practice looked specifically into healers' understanding of the disease, knowledge of the mode of transmission, symptoms that are associated with the disease and the way they treat and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Specifically, the study aimed Tanzania Health Research Bulletin Vol. 8 No. 2 May 2006 95