Ethn omedicine and Primary Healthcare in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

African herbal medicine has been discussed under various headings especially since the realization of the imperatives of the Health for All through an appropriate technology. Traditional medicine because of the African belief system has been one of the ways through which Health for All is discussed. The present study examines the uses of selected indigenous plants and their implication for Primary Health Care. If the appropriate technology must be adhered to and health care must be available and affordable, uses of indigenous plants must be explored and integrated into the Health Care Delivery System. Health in the conception of the World Health Organisation is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. The Organization also estimates about 4% of the world's population die annually of different forms of diseases regardless of their level of civilization. Moreover over 87% of these deaths occur in the developing countries and among civilized and localized population. The main causes of these are malnutrition, insufficient health subsidies, poor communication, lack of basic amenities like portable water, good roads which keep the community in a perpetual state of risk and help to accelerate disease episodes. Glaring to the Third World countries these basic facts have improved the exploration of the immediate surrounding to solve their health and social problems. To many African care users traditional medicine is not adopted as an alternative but rather as a preferred method sometimes even when the orthodox medical care is available. The holistic conception of health by the WHO also led to the development of the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach to solving health care problems in the world, including third World. This approach suggests the use of appropriate technologies obtained through affordable cost to reaching the goal of sound health by the population. Man has therefore cultivated the habit of observing plants for thousands