Herbal medicine researchers decry lack of recognition

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Herbal medicine researchers have long worked to uncover the potential of plant-based remedies, contributing valuable insights into the medicinal properties of herbs and plants used in traditional medicine.

However, many in the field are now expressing frustrations over the lack of recognition for their findings in the mainstream scientific and medical communities.

Despite decades of research into the benefits of various herbs, from medicinal plants used in ancient healing traditions to newer studies exploring their efficacy in modern treatments, many herbal medicine researchers feel their work is often either overlooked or dismissed. The stigma surrounding alternative medicine, along with challenges in obtaining funding for non-traditional research, has contributed to this lack of acknowledgement.

Different scholars and herbalists recently convened at Kyambogo University for the “Faith and Health Conference 2025” under the theme: Good Health and Well-being: The Intersection of Faith and Healing Practices in East and Central Africa.

Some of the members of the faith and health conference held on March 5, at Kyambongo University. (Photo by Alfred Ochwo)

The conference attracted experts from countries, including Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, and Scotland's University of Edinburgh.

Dr Yahaya Hills Kagali Sekagya, a traditionalist by-calling, said "The scientific community often fails to recognise the depth and potential of herbal medicine. We have demonstrated, time and time again, how plants like echinacea, turmeric and ginseng can offer therapeutic benefits, yet these findings don't always receive the attention they deserve".

He stressed that the recognition issue is further complicated by the fact that herbal medicine is often seen as a "fiction" area of study. Unlike pharmaceutical treatments that undergo rigorous clinical trials and government oversight, some biomedical researchers say many herbal remedies are not subjected to the same scrutiny or regulatory process. As a result, the findings of herbal researchers are sometimes dismissed as anecdotal or unproven.

Sekagya has a PhD in indigenous medicine from Mbarara University of Science and Technology. His thesis: Philosophical Basis of Health Care among Baganda Traditional Spiritual Healers found out that herbal researchers’ work tends to be dismissed or unjustified. However, given the increasing interest in natural health solutions among the public, at least 80% of Ugandans return to herbals after many times of trial and error.

With growing concerns over the side effects of conventional medications and the rise in chronic diseases, people are turning to herbal and plant-based alternatives. This shift has sparked a greater demand for scientifically backed evidence of herbal remedies' benefits.

Despite the obstacles, herbal researchers continue to push forward, conducting studies and clinical trials to prove the efficacy of their findings. For instance, Professor Patrick Ogwang discovered Covidex when the entire world was grappling with COVID-19. His local medicinal discovery saved many from death, though he was not properly funded.

Sekagya and other herbalists called for greater investment in the field and more support from academic institutions and government agencies to fund herbal research.

Additionally, they advocate for a more open-minded approach to the integration of herbal medicine into mainstream healthcare systems, suggesting that it is not a matter of replacing conventional treatments but rather offering complementary options.

Why the support?

Agatha Alidri and Simon Okello, both lecturers from Gulu University, in their research work: Beyond Modern Science: Ryemo Gemo (Chasing Away Evil Spirits), Tradition and Faith During the Covid-19 Pandemic Among the Acholi in Northern Uganda, the two researchers found out that indigenous people have strategies for disease control and prevention anchored on their tradition and belief systems, as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They said whereas the coronavirus posed a global health challenge in 2020, it placed modern science at a crossroads among African communities, including the Acholi in Northern Uganda. The pandemic witnessed the Acholi recalling their local history, perceptions, traditions, customs, and practices through Ryemo Gemo (chasing away evil spirits).

Lockdown and quarantine were not new practices in the Acholi region. In performing the Ryemo Gemo ritual, they quarantined patients in houses at least 100 metres from the main homestead and marked the huts with reeds from elephant grass. The patients were fed special traditional food and treated using herbal medicine, as instructed by the spirit.

The guiding spirit of the land forecasted the outbreak, its origin and cause, and possible interventions. Whereas the practice of Ryemo Gemo aroused contention, it was believed to have minimised the COVID-19 mortality rates in the Acholi subregion.

“Therefore, combating disease in communities with strong indigenous knowledge and beliefs in Africa and elsewhere could be much more successful if modern science recognises Indigenous practices, principles and beliefs in handling pandemics and epidemics and finds ways to use these ideas to complement Western ones,” they stated.

Martin Ssempa, a renowned city pastor, commended the great findings of his counterparts, saying that there is a need to fund and sensitize the community about the potential of traditional medicines.

“We are in the process of changing; most people do not understand their traditional powers,” he said.

James Mugisha, the dean of social sciences at Kyambogo University, said currently traditional medics are struggling for visibility due to the perceptions the local community has of them. He said with the great rich heritage Africa has, the respective governments ought to support them.