Sakiru Olarotimi Raji
Objectives: While other countries such as China, Cuba and India have developed traditional medical system, such development is missing in Nigeria. This study examined the challenges of traditional medicine and practitioners in Nigeria; why is traditional medicine still backward. It analyzed the attitude of Nigerian people with respect to their perception of ill-health and pathways to healthcare delivery system. This was on the basis of the fact that healthy living is generally a major concern for all worldwide.
Design: This study adopted an historical research method relying mainly on secondary sources of data from the past relevant researches, internet sources, official documents from government agencies and NGOs were consulted to establish a form of comparing the information in the public domain and the experience of the practitioners. The association of Nigerian traditional medical practitioners’ office in Lagos was visited for detailed information. The archive in the University of Ibadan Nigeria was also visited for adequate data.
Setting: The study was focused on Nigerian people and their health situation.
Results: The study revealed that healthcare delivery systems in Nigeria are mainly; Orthodox medicine (both private and public healthcare systems), traditional medicine and faith healing system. However, distribution of healthcare facilities and services in the country are lopsided, attention were concentrated on the cities and where the elite reside at the expense of the poor. The aftermath of this is that the traditional medicine was mostly utilized by the majority of the people.
Conclusions: It has been established that a majority of Nigerians (over 75%) live below one dollar per day, which invariably implies that they are poor. The government in its capacity should, as a matter of urgency, put in place policies to ensure its implementations to develop the traditional medicine because it is closer, cheaper and mostly utilized by Nigerians.