Why Doctors should be interested in Traditional Medicine

The author''s goal is to demonstrate to his fellow African physicians that they have an interest and even a duty to take an interest in traditional medicine (TM). He addresses the reasons often given by modern health professionals for rejecting TM taking care to explain that these reasons are actually opportunities to take an interest in it in order to correct these shortcomings. Rejection is not constructive; only by taking an interest can they improve the poor practices of traditional practitioners in light of their science. He then describes what physicians would gain from developing TM. African health systems cannot continue to ignore the use of TM for health problems by 80% of their populations. Finally he proposes ways to promote and develop TM.