A herbalist is a person who grows and sells herbs (plants) for medicinal purposes. Recently the Ministry of Health requested the powers that be to ban advertisement of herbalists whether direct or indirect as a practice is for trained professional medical personnel.

In Uganda, traditionally, herbalism has not only run in families, but always had blessings from powers of witchcraft. So herb craft has had to be passed from parent to daughter or son.

Today the belief that the creator never abandons his children has created a notion that for every disease in any locality, there must be a useful herb to cure the disease except that nobody may have yet found out. Unfortunately this has led to every Tom, Dick and Harry to turn herbalist and extort money from the unsuspecting public. This of course has been counter to the tradition that medicine should not be exchanged for money. If this happened the medication would never be effective.

The herbalists have said that just like any profession there may be quacks masquerading as herbalists spoiling their trade. Then it is a case of 99% of herbalists giving the rest a bad name.
Herbalists use medical terminology, which even in medical circles the conditions may require specialised treatment. This shows that the herbalists are not informed.

They are even giving herbs by injection, a dangerous practice which will not allow the body to sieve and reject dangerous material as is done for herbs by the alimentary canal. The preparations are not only contaminated and toxic, but also not prepared to suit injectable material standards leading to serious illness like body reactions or infections like ‘boils’.

While Kampala’s green belts are disappearing not of course leaving out the herbal plants, herbalists are increasing by leaps and bounds. If there is no authority to check their numbers and practice today, we are likely to have ‘commercial herbalists without herbs’ population explosion tomorrow.
One way of checking them is to introduce and enforce a strict code of conduct and registration.

The herbalists should also form an effective accountable association which will improve their credibility, monitor their practices and bring the erring ones to account. This will protect the sick population from the 99% masquerading herbalists and preserve the name of the 1% genuine ones. Otherwise the names witchdoctor, traditional healer and herbalist, to an ordinary person, ring the same bell.

source : www.newvision.co.ug