The Herbal Doctor
By Akatu Ajonye
Monday, May 15, 2006
A new magazine dedicated to the promotion of herbal medicine and treatment debuts
Proponents of traditional medicine practice as opposed to the orthodox type now have a strong platform for communicating their case. This is in the form of a quarterly journal of African medicine called The Herbal Doctor introduced recently. It is published by the Roman Catholic monks of the Benedictine Order, under the auspices of Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories based in Ewu-Esan in Edo State.
The Herbal Doctor is a 52-page full colour publication. The magazine is produced in all-gloss art paper of high grammage from cover to cover. Its pages are well planned and laid out with attractive pictorial illustrations accompanying all the stories and segments.
True to the nature of scholarly journals of its kind, the articles in The Herbal Doctor show proof of deep research and they are well-articulated. Beginning from the Editorial Desk on the first page, the writing is textured with a strong, almost combative, language, all in support of the cause of propagating the practice of traditional medicine in this part of the world.
Anselm Adodo, a reverend father and editor-in-chief of the publication outlines its mission statement in clear and assertive terms. "The aim of The Herbal Doctor is to re-assimilate, re-understand, re-interprete and re-express ancient African philosophy... The Herbal Doctor is championing a medical revolution that is all-embracing, holistic, African and global," he writes. Going further he declares that "after years of repudiating ancient wisdom, science is now validating the wisdom of the ancients."
In the first article entitled "Orthodox Medicine and Traditional Medicine, What Hope For a Synergy?" Adodo makes startling revelations with a long list of myths surrounding orthodox medicine practice and on the other hand, gives examples of common prejudices against traditional medicine practice. A few examples: "It was once believed that bacteria are the causes of illness. This was later found to be untrue. It was once said that baby food and artificial milk were better than breast milk. Recently, medical research showed that breast milk is the best food for babies…"
Continuing, Adodo writes "more people have typhoid and malaria than ever before; there are more people going to visit doctors than ever before; there are more surgeries performed than ever before...." With the long list, he attempts a demystification of western medicine which is more commercially viable and favoured by the government.
The second article by Bunmi Omosehindemi, a medical doctor and chairman, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board, toes the same line but outlines the problems and prospects of "the marriage of traditional and western medicine." Omosehindemi's topic is graphically captured in the picture on the cover in which a young medical doctor in a laboratory coat and with a stethoscope slung over his shoulder, stands facing an elderly man clutching his strange and "fearsome' paraphernalia of traditional medicine practice. The two men are both smiling.
The rest of the articles all constitute a rich corpus of educative, detailed and factual writing which are likely to clear any possible doubts by members of the public who may be contemplating turning to traditional medicine for their health needs. Contributors to the publication are from diverse specialist backgrounds in healthcare in Nigeria and in the diaspora. This imbues the journal with a reasonable degree of credibility.
Errors are minimal in the journal but a few of the colour pictures in it are slightly blurred while others have an excess of colour. For an otherwise 'boring' and specialised subject of focus, The Herbal Doctor makes pleasurable reading. Stakeholders in the health sector as well as interested members of the public will no doubt find the publication useful.
|
