HOW GOVT SHUNNED COVID-19 TIMBITA – TINYANGA

MBABANE – Eswatini Witchdoctors Association has claimed that they were never entertained when they presented their traditional medicine (timbita) for testing to government.

On March 4, 2021, the witchdoctors presented samples of traditional medicines (timbita) for testing in order to establish if they qualified to treat or suppress COVID-19. This was in their bid to join hands with the Ministry of Health in the fight against COVID-19. Worth noting is that at the time, there was no scientifically proven medicine to treat the virus. Also, the Ministry of Health was warning against the use of any substance except for the one offered in hospitals.

Advertised

Business was booming for some traditional healers who advertised traditional medicine as a treatment for COVID-19. Asked what happened to the traditional medicines upon submission of their samples, Chairman of the Witchdoctors Association Makhanya Makhanya said he had no specific answer as to what really happened to the traditional medicine. However, he stated that he believed their medication was thrown away after a lot of excuses were made by the ministry and other relevant stakeholders on why it could not be taken for testing.
He shared that upon submission of the samples, they were made to understand that government had no capacity to test the samples as the exercise required a lot of money.

Testing

“We were told that the samples had to be taken to the university (University of Eswaini) laboratory for testing, which required a lot of money. Government’s attitude was clear that it had no interest of traditional health practitioners at heart despite our willingness to work together as per the recommendation of the World Health Organisation (WHO). In the many engagements we had been to, we have realised that the work of traditional health practitioners is not valued and recognised. Some stakeholders personalise and demonise our work. We heard some saying we will end up repenting and do away with our work,” he said. He stated that the attitude by government had created an impression that it was not committed to recognising the work of traditional health practitioners in the country. He added that traditional health practitioners were there since creation. As a result, he said no acts of man could stand against the work of the Creator. A research has shown that Eswatini is among the African countries where traditional health practitioners operate without full rec

Diagnose

Even though some traditional health practitioners are registered under the traditional structures, they are not recognised in law to diagnose and treat patients. As a result, government does not recognise sick notes from traditional practitioners, which makes Eswatini different from other countries such as South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania, among other countries, which have embraced the work of traditional health practitioners. Makhanya stated that the delay by government to recognise them was a sign that they would never be recognised. He said they had on numerous occasions engaged government concerning their desire for recognition. “Tinyanga existed before the western cultures came to Africa but they have been sidelined and considered useless. Why should we beg for recognition?” he lamented.

Makhanya shared that the ministry advised them to engage the Ministry of Health House of Assembly Portfolio Committee as a starting point. He said they were left with the impression that referring them to Parliament was a delaying tactic as they felt the portfolio committee could not help them. Chairman of the Ministry of Health Portfolio Committee, MP Mduduzi ‘Small Joe’ Dlamini, attributed the delay of the testing to lack of resources. Dlamini who also represents Maseyisini Constituency in Parliament, said the tests would have been done had it not been the lack of resources.

Giving a brief background about the issue, Dlamini said government was fully behind the recognition of traditional health practitioners in the country. He said it was for that reason that government initiated and proposed testing of traditional medicine to ascertain the content in the substance before it was given to the public. This, he said, was aimed at minimising the risk to patients as the traditional health practitioners joined hands in the fight against COVID-19. Asked about the current stage of the proposed testing of the traditional medicines (timbita), Dlamini said to the best of his understanding, the process had not yet begun due to the lack of funds. However, he said the relevant stakeholders had applied for financial assistance from the WHO, which he said were also in support of the initiative. Even though he stated that he did not want to preempt the required amount, the exercise required a lot of money.

Medicine

Dlamini gave a different version from that of Makhanya. According to him, no traditional medicine had been submitted for testing so far. The MP said the country initiated the testing of the traditional medicines in order to strengthen the working relationship between western doctors and traditional health practitioners. “We cannot run away from the fact that many people consult traditional health practitioners, hence the need for recognition,” he said. Dlamini registered his hope that the next MPs would see to it that the process was completed if it failed during their term.

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