Nokulinda Mkhize, 28, graduated with a degree in social science and she’s been practicing traditional medicine in South Africa for five years, consulting with clients face-to-face or via Skype.
The work is her true calling, she said in a Sapa-AFP report in TimesLive.
Her Twitter feed @noksangoma, has almost 7,000 followers and her website features newspaper columns she has written, an online store and an autobiography.
Embracing technology for consultation is a natural, logical step that makes her more accessible to patients, TimesLive reports. It “allows me the freedom and flexibility to express my gifts in ways that are less restricted, and more true to who I am as a young woman.”
Traditional healers or sangomas have played a key role in South Africa for decades, consulted not only for illness but also for communication with the dead.
They’re a cheap and trusted alternative to expensive Western medicines for many.
New practitioners must learn the uses of herbs and other items, going through long initiations before they are considered ready to practice.
But in South Africa, the industry lacks the sort of formal qualifications and regulation that have are increasingly considered necessary for practitioners of Chinese alternative medicine, aromatherapy and the like.
How many South Africans visit traditional healers is difficult to determine, but millions of South Africans regularly consult tens of thousands of practitioners operating there.
The trade in traditional medicine is estimated to be worth nearly three billion rand ($280 million) a year, according to a 4-year-old study by Durban-based economist, Myles Mander.
“There’s big demand for the medicine and it’s not going away,” Mander said. “Almost in every town, there are hundreds if not thousands of market players.”
Gradually, sangomas have gained official recognition for the role they play in South African society.
South Africa’s top court ruled in 2013 that sick notes written by sangomas are valid and should be accepted by employers. Prior to that ruling, employees would consult traditional healers but were forced to also see conventional doctors “to buy” a sick note, the report said.
Today some traditional healers are trained in basic pediatric oncology and in the management and treatment of TB and HIV/AIDS.
A network of pharmacies sell herbs retail. Some herbs are also found in some conventional drug stores in Johannesburg shopping malls.
One Johannesburg doctor, who asked not to be named for fear of losing her licence, said she used sangoma’s herbs herself and sometimes prescribed them to patients.
“I found them to work beautifully… and sometimes I recommend them, if they are willing, and if they are not then I go the conventional way,” she said.
But the industry is almost unregulated, leading to questions about abuse and the effectiveness of medicines. Many healers claim to have powers to increase wealth, according to the report. Advetising for spells for penis enlargement and vagina-tightening are common in major towns and cities, according to the report.
And there have been instances of traditional medicine crossing over into into witchcraft and human sacrifice.
“Traditional medicine can be dangerous,” Mander said. “A lot of those medicines have very powerful toxins. They provide a lot of good, but people also die.”
While Chinese medicine, ayurvedic, aromatherapy and other treatments are undergoing practitioner certification, traditional healers are angry that medical boards are not ready to give African medicine the same standing, the report said.
“It’s an insult, a disgrace that we have a Medicine Control Council that has not been able to register African traditional medicine, but it accepts Chinese medicine,” said Rui de Carvalho, who gave up an IT job to become a traditional healer.
Traditional herbs and sangomas are not certified by South Africa’s drug administration and certification agencies because of cost, according to the report. There’s a lack of funding to carry out expensive clinical trials.
“It’s clear that’s an area in South Africa that we need to control,” said Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
Many say the current debate is missing the point.
Robina Dlamina has used traditional medicine for close to 20 years.
“It works faster and better,” than western medicine, she said.
