Page 123 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(1) (2024)

it. When this happens, the next step was to take first point of contact. Although there was lim-
the sick person to the traditional medical prac- ited knowledge on trypanosomiasis in Asante,
titioner for treatment. Treatment was adminis- there were some herbs that the traditional prac-
tered based on symptoms and signs shown on titioners used in combatting the disease, es-
the person (Twumasi 1975). Kudzo and Scofield pecially in areas where the disease was known.
(2004) have argued that at the haemolymphat- Some of these herbs included khaya Senegalen-
ic stage of the disease, there are no specific symp- sis (Kuntukuri), terminalia avicennioides, and xi-
toms or infections, and the infections are most- menia americana among others. Maikai et al.’s
ly confused with malaria. Again, the 1935 reports (2010) research in northern Nigeria on trypano-
from the Gold Coast medical department de- somiasis indicates that these herbs were useful,
scribe that the disease generally starts with fever especially at the haemolymphatic stage of the
(unaccompanied by malaria) for about 20 days, disease. Thus, it can be argued that while the
then a recovery followed by relapse (PRAAD, contribution of traditional medical practition- 123
Kumase, ARG 1/14/16, Tsetse Control, 1935). ers to the fight of trypanosomiasis was not so in-
Thus, it was obvious that the traditional medi- tense within the period, they played a very useful
cal practitioners within the period under review role (Makai 2010). Their compliance with the or-
were making efforts to cure many diseases that dinance Cap 17 of section 15 was important be-
were likely to include trypanosomiasis prior to cause cases that were reported were basically at
the twentieth century. The colonization of As- the preliminary stages, aiding the smooth and
ante brought sudden changes in the tradition- fast treatment of patients.
al medical profession. In the early 1900s, native
practitioners were ordered to seek for licenses be- Conclusion
fore they could operate. Cap 17 of section 75 of Drawing inferences from the above, it can be
the Native Physician Ordinance gave some cri- argued that there is the need to enhance vector
teria to native physicians concerning the extent control and spraying programmes to prevent the
to which they could operate, and this included breeding of tsetse, which is the vector for tryp-
the dress code of native physicians and the ther- anosomiasis. Brun et al. (2010) have recount-
apeutic system of practice (PRAAD, Kumase, ed that the main reason for the emergence and
ARG1/14/26, Native Doctors and Physician). spread of trypanosomiasis in the 1990s in Africa
In addition, the Native Physician Ordi- was the collapse of surveillance and control activ- Indigenous and European Policies and Strategies for Combatting Asante Trypanosomiasis
nance instructed traditional practitioners to re- ities in most endemic countries, which was done
port to the traditional chiefs concerning any earlier during the colonial period. This brings
contagious disease or any disease the coloni- to light the need to encourage mass surveil-
al administration perceived to be dangerous to lance and vector control programmes at tsetse-
the entire population, and this did not exclude fly-prone areas, especially the Northern part of
trypanosomiasis. It is obvious that the powers of Ghana. Another critical issue to look at is decen-
the traditional practitioners, as well as their abil- tralization of the systems or structures that sup-
ity to administer their medicines and practic- port the fight against infectious diseases. Efforts
es freely, were reduced during the colonial peri- to curb the spread of trypanosomiasis in Asante
od. However, within this period, the traditional was done through the indirect rule system super-
practitioners were first enlisted before an alter- intended by the British Colonial Administra-
native choice of medicine was taken into consid- tion. This system allowed the traditional author-
eration (Twumasi 1975). Although their role in ities to independently make laws through the
combatting the disease was limited, there were native administration ordinance. The practice of
some significant contributions made by the tra- a decentralized system during the colonial peri-
ditional practitioners since they served as the od helped to promote the effectiveness of policies