Traditional Medicine in Cameroon: A Strategic Approach to Health and Poverty Alleviation

Traditional medicine is broadly defined as the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures that are used in the maintenance of health. This situation, which was due at least partly to the unsustainable economic condition of this country over a long period of time has made traditional medicine very fashionable in Cameroon during last decade. The therapeutic approach to alternative medicine has become one of the long-term solutions for a concerted search in patterns for discovering and developing new chemical entities as drug candidates due to the high cost, non accessibility of most frequently used existing drugs and development increased resistance by pathogens causing common diseases such as malaria, bacterial infections; sexually transmitted disease etc .

This covers how the practice of TM has been, is as well will be experienced in future which ensues its role in sustainable poverty alleviation. This study sheds light on the strategic plan and roadmap developed by the Ministry of Health Cameroon for TM organizational architecture, research platform in terms assistance to TM practice and development as a global partnership with management interest about how TM is practiced in-country.

In Cameroon, the economic crisis of 1980 has seen many people opting for medicinal plants as an emerging herbal medicine practice . To assist with this process the WHO working alongside CKTi has developed a strategic route map for TM integration by 2012 Burkhill, 2000 Ngadjui et al. For all these reasons, the government should now enter through TM process to enhance research and development fitting into integrated within National Health care System of Cameroon

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