Boom for traditional healers as health care costs rise

As the cost of medical care in Zimbabwe continues to rise, an increasing number of patients have turned to traditional healers for assistance. As early as five o'clock in the morning, patients accompanied by their relatives start arriving at the homestead of Erina Muguyo, a renowned traditional healer in the Porta Farm area about 30 kilometres west of Harare. Despite the chilly weather, they queue patiently until he starts attending to them at midday. "I went to Parirenyatwa hospital in Harare yesterday with my husband and they could not attend to him because we failed to raise the Zim $120,000 (US $22) deposit they needed to admit him. That is why you find that most of us now prefer to go to traditional healers," said Monica Hamandishe, a resident of Kuwadzana, a high-density suburb in the capital, Harare. "At least here I pay a small consultation fee and get the herbs for free. At the hospital you pay a hefty fee for consultation and [have] to buy the drugs. We can't afford that," she added. The Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, the country's biggest referral medical centres, requires US $22 for admissions on top of consultation fees. In private hospitals and clinics the charges are much higher, with some charging admission fees of over US $380. Private doctors, meanwhile, charge consultation fees of US $11 per patient, an amount beyond the reach of average Zimbabweans. The president of Zimbabwe's National Traditional Healers Association (Zinatha), Professor Gordon Chavunduka, noted that over the past two years there had been an influx of patients seeking treatment from traditional healers. Zinatha has a countrywide membership of 55,000 traditional healers, each seeing an average of 20 patients per day. "If you go to a hospital now, people are dying because there are no doctors or nurses, and even drugs. People prefer traditional healers because at least they get treated," he told IRIN. According to Chavunduka, the vast majority of people who visit traditional healers are HIV positive. According to official statistics, almost 3,800 people in Zimbabwe succumb to AIDS-related diseases every week. With regard to soaring health care costs, Chavunduka said: "As traditional healers we are excited that we are getting big business, but it is not good for the whole health sector." An acute shortage of foreign currency has crippled the health system, with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare unable to finance the purchase of urgently needed drugs to treat some of the most basic health conditions. Billy Rigava, president of Zimbabwe's Medical Association (Zima) told IRIN that although there were 2,500 doctors registered with the organisation, only 1,200 were still working in Zimbabwe. "The health situation in the country can now best be described as an emergency. There is an urgent need to address the deteriorating situation by improving the welfare of the remaining health personnel," said Rigava. In an effort to address the skills loss, the government has made agreements with Cuba and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). "Presently, there are about 350 foreign doctors in the country and 80 percent of them are Cubans. But the problem is, it takes a lot of time for them to settle down," Rigava said. There was also the additional problem of language, as doctors from Cuba and the DRC found it difficult to converse with English speaking locals.