The therapeutic value and healing powers of plants were demonstrated to me when I was a
boy of about ten. I had developed an acute persistent abdominal pain that did not respond
readily to hospital medication. My mother had taken me to the city’s central hospital on
several occasions, where different drugs were tried on me. In total desperation, she took me to Egya Mensa, a well-known herbalist in my home town in the western province of Ghana. This man was no stranger to the medical doctors at the hospital. He had earned the reputation of offering excellent help when they were confronted with difficult cases where
Western medicine had failed to cure.
After a brief interview, he left us waiting in his consulting room while he went out to the field.He returned with several leaves and the bark of a tree. One of his attendants quickly prepared a decoction and handed me a glass of this preparation. It was extremely bitter but within an hour or so, I began to feel relieved. The rest of the decoction was put in two large bottles so that I could take doses periodically. Within three days, the frequent abdominal pains stopped and I recall gaining a good appetite. I have appreciated the healing powers of medicinal plants ever since.
My experience may sound unusual to those who come from urban areas of the developed
world, but for those in less affluent nations such experiences are common. Studies by WHO indicate that for 75 to 90 per cent of the rural population of the world, the herbalist is the only person who handles their medical problems.
In African culture, traditional medical practitioners are always considered to be influential
spiritual leaders as well, using magic and religion along with medicines. Illness is handled
with the individual’s hidden spiritual powers and with application of plants containing healing properties.
The traditional medical practitioners are found: