Collaborating with traditional healers in Zambia on HIV prevention, care and treatment

30 June 2005

By involving traditional healers in an HIV prevention, care and treatment project in Zambia, the Alliance and its partners have successfully reached new communities not accessing 'bio medical' healthcare.

It is estimated that around 80 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa visit traditional health practitioners (including traditional healers and traditional birth attendants) for many of their health needs. These extensive networks of practitioners can provide a vital route to HIV prevention and care. The Traditional Health Practitioners Association (THPAZ) is one of the organisations involved with the ACER project (Community Education and Referral: Supporting Adherence to ARV Treatment and Prevention for people with HIV project) in Zambia providing community education and referral activities. THPAZ's involvement has demonstrated that scaling up of HIV prevention and care work requires collaboration with every kind of health practitioner to reach those communities with limited or no access to biomedical health care.

THPAZ’s activities include:

  • sensitising traditional healers around HIV/AIDS, anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment and prevention
  • referral of clients for ARV treatment and other HIV-related services
  • carrying out education activities at traditional ceremonies
  • engaging in dialogue with traditional leaders on how to modify traditional practices that increase the risk of HIV infection and re-infection
  • running Ntembas (stalls) in market places to provide information on ARV treatment, adherence and prevention.

Traditional healers are a great crowd puller, with up to 500 people turning up for their cultural performances, during which education on ARV treatment is provided. The traditional healers have welcomed the opportunity to associate more openly on HIV issues with the other community members. It is also a way to reach community members with messages about HIV and ARV treatment who would otherwise not access the formal health sector. When asked how they promote the ARV clinics, one traditional healer replied, ‘We know how to talk to people. I will simply say that I have consulted the spirits and have been told that the illness he has is best dealt with using medicine from the hospital. They have a lot of faith in us and will go as we advise.’ In this way, traditional healers reach people who would otherwise not seek help from the local health facilities.

There have been challenges around the involvement of traditional healers in the ACER project. The response from health workers to clients referred by healers has not always been supportive. And some community members have viewed activities carried out by traditional healers as linked to witchcraft, with the greatest opposition coming from certain churches. But overall, the traditional healers have been enthusiastic collaborators in the ACER project and vital partners in promoting community engagement with HIV-related treatment, care and prevention.