Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together against AIDS

"[1]In February 2000 in Kampala, Uganda, THETA held a conference supported by UNAIDS and PROMETRA (Association of the Promotion of Traditional Medicine).

It involved 100 delegates from 17 African countries, including Dr. Sandra Anderson of UNAIDS-South Africa, Dr. Donna Kabatesi (then THETA director), and Professor Charles Wambebe, the head of Nigeria's National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.During his tenure at NIPRD, he initiated and directed the research and development of Niprisan- a standardised phytomedicine for the prophylactic management of sickle cell disorder.

[7] This conference also led to the formation of an East and Southern African Regional Task Force on Traditional Medicine and HIV/AIDS in 2001.

[5][12] For people who were HIV-positive, traditional healers provided a local, familiar, and accessible option compared to biomedical personnel who were usually overbooked and located farther away.

[12][15][8] Despite their influence, biomedical practitioners often distrusted their credibility and traditional healers lacked adequate information about HIV/AIDS.