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They were banned by colonial rulers and ignored by modern medicine. Today, scientists believe the traditional healers of Mali may hold the key to combating diseases such as bilharzia and malaria.

Although African traditional medicine still has quite a dubious image, especially amongst the medical profession, Mali is a different story. Traditional medicine is one of three main pillars supporting the government's health strategy. And Malian doctors trained in conventional medicine seem to fully respect their countryside colleagues, who practice a craft developed over the centuries.

In the capital Bamako there is a laboratory where researchers spend their working days studying the medicinal effects of plants brought in from around the country – selected on the advice of traditional healers. The laboratory has been established by the Malian government which is convinced that traditional medicine is a crucial public health investment.

MEDICINE MAN | Niazon Togola represents an ancient tradition of herbal medicine. 80 percent of the Malian population is totally dependent on their local healer.

“The status of the healers has changed. Healers have become included in most of the government-run health programmes in Mali. Among those are the programmes on malaria, tuberculosis and HIV,” says Professor Drissa Diallo, a driving force behind the renaissance of herbal medicine in Mali.

The sole option
This is a renaissance in which the NUFU programme has had a part. It is more than a decade ago since Professor Diallo met Professor Berit Smestad Paulsen from the University of Oslo, Norway. They initiated a programme of scientific cooperation, funded by the NUFU programme, which accelerated interest and research.

“Mali has come further than any other African country in the field of traditional medicine. We have often been told that the way things are done in Mali is a suitable model for other countries on the continent,” says Professor Smestad Paulsen. “The most important goal for us is to build up scientific skills and facilities in Mali. In Norway we have a number of techniques to study medicinal plants which we share with the Malians.”

Professor Diallo got his doctoral degree in 2000 through the project and has taken up the position as Director of the Department of Traditional Medicine in Bamako. He is now considered an international authority on traditional medicine.

From their base in Bamako the Malian and Norwegian scientists travel out to meet hundreds of traditional healers in different, often far-off, villages.

Mali has come further than any other African country in the field of traditional medicine.

For people in these areas traditional medicine is their sole option if they become ill. Mali has only one doctor per 16 000 inhabitants and 80 per cent of the population is considered to be totally dependent on their local healers. In contrast there is one healer per 500 inhabitants in the country.

“A lot of data has been recorded. Seven improved traditional medicines are now on the national list of essential drugs in Mali and sold in pharmacies,” says Professor Diallo.

Sharing secrets

THE HEALER | Traditional healer Seydou Fane (left) is an important man in the village of Finiana. His knowledge also has a high status among medical professionals in Mali. Right: Professor Drissa Diallo, Director of the Department of Traditional Medicine, teaches a group of Malian and Norwegian students.

Herbal medicine was deemed unacceptable during colonial times and had been largely ignored by conventional medical science until recently. Professors Diallo and Smestad Paulsen and their fellow researchers, on the other hand, come with a keen interest to learn from the healers. Mostly, the healers are happy to share.

“I think they see it as beneficial to themselves and as a possibility to further develop their own skills. We always give them feedback about our findings,” says Professor Smestad Paulsen.

On the initiative of Professor Diallo, the medicine men formed the Association of Traditional Healers in 2001 to secure their rights and to influence how their knowledge is used. This is going to be increasingly important as health benefits – and thereby potential commercial profits – become visible to the pharmaceutical industry. Of all new drugs coming on the market between 1980 and 2000, 60 per cent were based on natural materials. In the future this figure is expected to rise.

“The responsibility for the issue of patents is well taken care of. And we do of course follow international conventions on biodiversity. Mali decides if and how plants and extracts are to be used,” says Professor Smestad Paulsen. “Our goal is to get as much knowledge as possible of the plants. This way we can give feedback to the healers whether they should continue to use them or not and we can help standardise production of improved traditional medicines.”

Work to do
Back in the Bamako laboratory the researchers systematise herbs and information, they extract biologically active components, analyse and characterise them. Sometimes conventional medical literature has information on the same plants, and in these cases it is important to map convergences between traditional and modern medicine.

MEDICINE WOMAN: It is mostly men who practice the craft of herbal healing. But Mali does have a few female healers. One of them is Mamou Traoré.

Professors Diallo and Smestad Paulsen have seen herb extracts analysed and found to be effective against a number of medical conditions. One plant appears to be working against malarial parasites. Others have demonstrated the ability to prevent the destruction of nerve cells.

“We have also worked quite a bit with wounds. The traditional healers have a wide range of definitions and treat different types of wounds differently,” says Professor Smestad Paulsen. “Among other things, we have found one plant to work on the immune system and in that way have an effect against stomach ulcers.”

The researchers involved come from different scientific backgrounds; pharmacists, botanists, chemists, immunologists and microbiologists all contribute to the studies. More than 50 Master’s degrees have resulted from the cooperation between the University of Oslo and the Department of Traditional Medicine in Bamako. One of the Malians involved has completed a PhD and two others are currently in the finishing stages.

They have a lot of scientific work waiting for them in the coming years.

“We see a change coming,” says Professor Smestad Paulsen. “A lot of plants have been verified to have an effect. The World Health Organisation acknowledges traditional medicine as vital to improving public health in developing countries.”

Professor Diallo agrees: “As the knowledge of the traditional healers comes in to use, I think their status will continue to grow.”