Pretoria - Gauteng Health MEC Hope Papo has acknowledged the importance of traditional medicine in tackling various diseases.
Addressing a Traditional Medicine Day event in Johannesburg on Friday, Papo encouraged traditional healers to continue working with the department to promote healthy lifestyles and ensure a reduction of lifestyle related illnesses.
He urged traditional healers to work hand in hand with the department in ensuring the reduction of maternal and neonatal deaths.
“I urge you to encourage expectant women to visit clinics in the early stages of their pregnancies so that potential complication cases can be identified early and measures to prevent them implemented.”
Traditional healers also needed to understand programmes such as the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV so that they can advise women accordingly.
Papo promised to strengthen the traditional medicine directorate in his department to allow for more knowledge-sharing workshops between western medicine and traditional medicine practitioners.
The aim would be to create working relationships that will ensure that the citizens of Gauteng receive quality healthcare. – SAnews.gov.za
