Herbalists seek recognition of their role in health care system
Herbalists in Kisii and Nyamira counties have appealed for recognition to enhance health care services.
Kisii County Herbalist and Research Centre chairman Peter Nyaore has since called on medics in private and public health facilities to recognise their role, saying they are not rivals but complement each other.
Nyaore explained that industrial medicine is made from herbs and minerals, saying herbalists have alternative drugs that treat chronic diseases like conventional medicines. He dismissed critics linking herbalists with sorcery and witchcraft, noting that they are trained formally, conduct researches on herbs, diseases and dosages.
Herbalists have helped people with chronic diseases recover and continue with their lives. They diagnose diseases, prescribe treatments and follow up till patients recover,” Nyaore said at Kisii Cultural hall yesterday during the first graduation of 35 students with degrees from Kisii University.
“We have researched 250 herbs and diseases they treat. They are not toxic and urge the county government to allocate us spaces at health facilities to treat patients,” Nyaore said, adding they are unable to treat patients at hospitals due to fear. Flanked by Prof William Gisesa, Herbal Medicine lecturer at various universities, the chairman implored the county government to fund herbalists to conduct more research on diseases. He said the herbalists want land to plant herbs, noting that this will ease their research and access the herbs easily to treat patients instead of travelling to far- flung counties to look for the herbs.
“Herbalists have been trained, qualified and need support so that they can discover cures for non-communicable diseases,” Nyaore explained.
Training on herbal medicine in various universities started in 2014. “We research in African traditional medicine, teach clinical sciences, plant chemistry, human anatomy, practical development and pharmacology just like medical students at higher institutions,” Gisesa said.
