Herbs keep kids healthy

UNDER-FIVES: MORTALITY RATE DOWN BUT STILL WORSE THAN CUBA, INDIA Govt urged to help determine role of medicinal plants.

In 2021, almost 33 of every 1 000 South African children under five years old died. This mortality rate is far worse than in similar middle-income countries such as Brazil (14.4 per 1 000 births), Cuba (5 per 1 000), India (30.6), Indonesia (22.2) and Egypt (19.0).

SA’s under-five mortality rate also lags behind the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of reducing these figures worldwide by 2030 to 25 deaths per 1 000.

Significant progress has been made. In 1994 SA’s under-five mortality rate was 60.4 per 1 000. The government’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation was one health intervention that made a difference.

However, inequalities persist. The underfunded public health sector has been stretched to serve 71% of the population.

Worldwide, many people, particularly those in rural settlements, depend on medicinal plants for their health. In August 2023, the World Health Organisation held the first global summit on traditional medicine in India.

Researchers with an interest in indigenous knowledge explored the use of medicinal plants as remedies against diseases among children in SA’s North West province.

Of the province’s population, 49.2% live below the poverty line with no access to proper housing, water and sanitation. These conditions have an impact on children’s health.

Despite the high reliance on traditional medicine by rural populations, the role of medicinal plants for the treatment of childhood diseases remains speculative and lacks systematic documentation. The study yielded the first comprehensive inventory of medicinal plants and indigenous knowledge related to children’s health care in the area.

In total, 61 plants from 34 families were recorded as medicine used for managing seven categories of diseases. Skin-related and gastrointestinal diseases were the most prevalent childhood health conditions encountered by the study participants.

Evidence shows traditional health practitioners continue to play an important role in managing childhood illness in sub-Saharan Africa.

SA is endowed with a rich wealth of flora and is often acclaimed as a biodiversity hot spot. Thousands of plants are used for traditional medicine for the management of diverse health conditions.

In the North West, researchers interviewed 101 participants, including traditional health practitioners, specifically those with expertise in managing and treating diseases among children, and herbal vendors operating in the selected study areas.

Gender distribution among the participants was 78% female and 21% male. This signifies the importance of women as custodians of indigenous knowledge related to childhood health needs.

Of the 61 plants identified, 89% were recorded for the first time as botanicals used for childhood-related diseases by traditional health practitioners.

Roots and rhizomes were the parts most frequently used as treatments (40%), followed by leaves (23%) and whole plants (20%). Boiling plants or softening them in liquid were the main preparation methods.

The plant remedies were mainly administered orally (60%) and used on the skin (39%).

We recommend that government provide institutional and financial support to determine the role of herbal medicine in primary health care.

Traditional health practitioners play an important role