The relationship between traditional healers and health workers is often an uneasy one. The traditional healer may fear a loss of prestige and patients when health workers come to his village. Medical personnnel, for their part, are often reluctant to cooperate with healers out of a geniune, but sometimes misplaced concern that their methods may harm the patient.

In the case of young children infected with malaria, traditional healers were often blamed for delaying medical treatment while they tried to drive out the evil spirits they believed were causing degedege or malarial convulsions.

That began to change in Tanzania thanks to a project to convince traditional healers and community members that when a child has the symptoms of severe malaria – convulsions and coma – the anti-degedege ritual must be postponed until after the patient receives urgent medical attention.

By actively involving traditional healers as treatment partners and encouraging them to refer young malaria victims to health facilities for immediate attention, the project lowered malaria mortality rates in the study area.

Building on that success, NRMI research scientist Emanuel Makundi’s project will look for ways to further improve communication and collaboration between traditional healers and health workers in addressing child malaria in remote rural communities.

Expected Outcomes

• Improved understanding on how traditional healers manage severe cases of malaria at a community level and assessment of existence of referral systems
• Identification of modalities of collaboration between traditional healers and health workers
• Improved communication between traditional healers and health workers in addressing the burden of malaria at a community level

Impact

• Reduction of morbidity and mortality of severe malaria for children under five years
• Two students trained at Masters Level in Tanzania (University of Dar es Salaam/ Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences)