Traditional medicine comes of age

Gareth Maguire, photos Pierre Virot, OMS

In the foothills of Entoto Mountain, that dominates the skyline of Ethiopia’s capital, the modern city is thrust upon rural life, with livestock and vehicles competing for road space along it’s bustling streets. We have come here to visit a unique project called Biofarm, a experiment where ancient practices and modern techniques come together to help the poor communities in the outskirts of Addis Ababa that live in some of the worst conditions in Africa.

Dr. Getachew Tikubet, the resident scientist leads us on a tour of the project that is based on poverty-reduction, but also improving the health of the Ethiopian people. Dr. Getachew stresses that the aim of Biofarm is to work with nature, not against it, and as such developing environmentally friendly appropriate technologies for the peri urban communities in Addis Ababa.

The tour of the 7-hectare plot is focussed on natural resource management and improved smallholding agriculture. This includes bio-intensive gardening, composting, drip-irrigation, and tree farming displays, plus Ethiopia’s first biogas system that provides electricity for the site, and a source of organic fertiliser. However, the Biofarm also cultivates many plants that are used medicinally and for pest management.

However, the star of the Biofarm Project is undoubtedly Ato Mulugeta. Now over 80 years old, he is one of the country’s most knowledgeable herbalists. Having acted as herbalist to Emperor Haile Selassie and the royal court for many years plus thousands of other patients who visit him daily still, he holds an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of formulations of various herbs to treat almost all ailments. Dr. Getachew is working with him to painstakingly record his treatments, their formulation and dosage, so that this valuable resource will not be lost.

Many Ethiopians, particularly in rural and isolated regions, depend on medicinal plants as their only source of health care. Medicinal plants and knowledge of their use provide a vital contribution to human health. The plants are generally readily available, have minimal side effects and are free or at least affordable. At Biofarm many medicinal plants are cultivated under the guidance of Ato Mulugeta, and their uses demonstrated to visitors. Pyrethrum is grown for use as a natural insecticide to be used in dwellings, particularly against mosquitoes and Tetse flies. Other readily available materials include eucalyptus for treating respiratory complaints, and honey from the farm’s bees to treat wounds, to name just a few.

The Ministry of Health of Ethiopia has recognised the important role medicinal plants and traditional health systems play in the country’s health care. At the Drug Research Department of the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Institute, Several doctors are developing a national Pharmacopoeia. By formalising the process of extraction, standardisation, safety and efficacy, dosage and formulation of herbal medicines, they hope to integrate them into the national health system. While doing so, the project is also storing seeds and specimens to protect these genetic resources, as many of the plants are endiginous to a few specific regions of the country.

Here, the many plants prescribed by traditional healers such as Ato Mulugeta are tested in the laboratory by highly-trained professionals with expertise in the fields of plant chemistry and pharmacology. Recommendations for using traditional plant-based remedies in primary health care will only carry weight through these studies that establish their credibility and illustrate their safety. Who knows, in a few years we may see health professionals prescribing herbal treatments at clinics throughout the country that the followers of Ato Mulugeta have been receiving for years!

The author is Microbiologist.. Photos Pierre Virot, Photographer at WHO Head Office in Geneva