A Review of The Traditional Perception and Management of Malaria in Owan, Edo State

Abstract

Conceptualization of health differs across culture. As a result, the paper takes a phenomenological review of the traditional perception and management of malaria in Owan Edo State. The aim is to explore the feasibility of a synergy between western biomedicine and African traditional medicine for the sustainable management and control of malaria in African communities. The methodology adopted is qualitative. Data were obtained mainly through in-depth interview and non-participatory observation methods. The paper discovers that the Owan (African) people have peculiar traditional belief, practice, knowledge and control measures for malaria and other diseases. It shows that they have been familiar with the signs and symptoms' relating to malaria even as it is today defined by modern biomedicine. The paper unveils also that the recent demands for pluralism in modern healthcare delivery system appears to be based on a realistic assessment of the inadequacy of any single system of healthcare to solve all contemporary health needs. The paper thus proposes the need for a trado-biomedical collaboration; that is, a harmonious synergy between African traditional medical system and western biomedicine for effective health care delivery in modern African societies.