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Stephen Mpofu, Perspective

The concept procrastination is generally regarded as the thief of time, but delay has proved to be the thief of lives in these difficult times when the human race is reeling under the Covid-19 global pandemic which has claimed millions of lives.

Under the circumstances, any idea about medicines with conventional medicines will make the two opposite disease-remedial methods remain as strange bed fellows because of delays associated with traditional medicines in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, according to a senior doctor at a referral hospital in Bulawayo.

In fact, there are no known speedy, scientific diagnostic measures for diseases employed in traditional medicine unlike in conventional medicine which is informed by medical science with, for instance, face masks, sanitisers and social distancing being effective against the spread of Covid-19.

On the contrary “steaming” patients by traditional healers may cause fatal delays in treating victims of the Covid-19 virus, the doctor who may not be named for professional reasons said this week in response to calls by some MPs to the Government to consider availing land to grow medical herbs and also establish training institutions to promote the use of traditional medicines in order for these approaches to restore confidence in traditional medicines and also help Zimbabweans address a growing disease burden obviously aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The doctor said people particularly out there in the country side, where the majority of Zimbabweans live, must be educated to realise that THE hospital is the first port of call for the treatment of all diseases.

Anyone acquainted with rural life will know that traditional healers and/or spirit mediums in most cases are the first people to run to when one feels indisposed.

The consultants either cast their bones to discover if you were bewitched or if ancestral spirits — which may be demonic for that matter — are asked by the medium if they are responsible for the patient’s suffering as punishment for offending the spirits.

While those procedures are being taken, the disease germs will be wreaking havoc in the patient’s body with delay in receiving treatment a deadly thief of life.

Which proves beyond any shadow of doubt the reality of the saying that prevention is better than cure as the latter may not only be too expensive to afford by poor souls out there but may be too late to thwart death.

In any case you (yes, you) can only stop the occurrence of a disease when you know what preventive measures to take such as, in the case of the coronavirus where World Health Organisation antidotes are known and universally employed to curb Covid-19 infections.

The use of traditional medicines in remote rural areas with no hospitals nearby is all very well as immediate avenues for relief but health centres should be the primary considerations for the sick to receive specialist medical attention to save lives.