priorities
17 March 2006
Research and development of African traditional medicine should be one of
the main priorities for research in the South Africa, Health Minister Dr Manto
Tshabalala-Msimang said in a speech to the conference of researchers and
research-founders in Pretoria today.
The two-day (16 - 17 March) conference is convened by the Department of
Health to decide on the priorities for research in the country and is attended
by representatives of United Nations agencies, donor organisations and various
South African research bodies.
Understanding that we are Africans with a particularly history dating back
several centuries, Minister Tshabalala-Msimang said South Africa needs to pay
attention to those things that sustained the health of Africans throughout
their history of denied access to health and other basic services.
She said the conference that there is a need to invest resources and efforts
into the research and development of African traditional medicines, which have
been suppressed through several years of colonialism and apartheid.
âNo one will do this work for us. No one can reclaim our dignity on our
behalf. There is a great deal of literature on Indian or Chinese traditional
medicine. We need to establish those things within African traditional medicine
that add value to management of diseases and improvement of health,â said
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang.
She said there were many health challenges facing the country and the
continent researchers need to be broadminded in their approach and diversify
their interventions against these challenges.
âOur success in the research and development of African traditional medicine
will probably be the best contribution the health sector can make to the
African Renaissance,â said Minister Tshabalala-Msimang.
She also called for more research to be conducted on behavioural science to
establish best interventions that can be implemented to modify lifestyles and
prevent the spread of various infections and development of chronic
diseases.
âWe need to establish the best measures we have to take to modify our own
behaviour or lifestyles that puts us at risk of contracting communicable
diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and AIDS and developing non-communicable
illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension,â said Minister
Tshabalala-Msimang.
She noted the disparities that still exist in the allocation of resources
for research with less than 10% of global health research spending devoted to
90% of the global burden disease affecting people in developing countries.
âWe also have deficiencies in the health systems which receive little or no
attention from donor organisation; international organisation and local
research institutions. These areas include infection control in our health
facilities, integration of health information systems and improving efficiency
in the utilisation of resources available in the public and private health
sector. We need to focus on research that improves the functioning of the
health system as a whole,â said Minister Tshabalala-Msimang.
Enquiries:
Sibani Mngadi
Cell: 082 772 0161
Issued by: Department of Health
17 March 2006
