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Traditional Medicine in Africa

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Abstract

Traditional medicine is an important part of healthcare delivery in Africa. Although a substantial majority still rely on this kind of healing as their primary source of healthcare, the practice is fraught with a number of paradoxes. This chapter addresses the meaning, contributions, challenges and progress of traditional medicine as an alternative healthcare approach and the ways in which African traditional medicine conforms—to a degree—with modern standards. Specifically, the chapter examines the progress on the recognition, development and prospect of traditional medicine in Africa. Recently, the WHO has been working with African nations to integrate scientific and medical models of health to enhance the potentials of traditional medicine in the control of endemic diseases.

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Correspondence to Jimoh Amzat or Oliver Razum .

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Amzat, J., Razum, O. (2018). Traditional Medicine in Africa. In: Towards a Sociology of Health Discourse in Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61672-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61672-8_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-61671-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61672-8

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