UKZN Alumnus and Lecturer A Champion of Integrating Traditional Medicine into the Mainstream

As Africa commemorates Africa Day, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) shines a spotlight on pioneering work that affirms African scholarship, innovation and indigenous knowledge systems as the University continues striving to be a leading research institution on the continent.

UKZN has cemented its place as a pioneer in advancing African indigenous knowledge systems and traditional medicine research. Long before the global shift towards integrative healthcare, UKZN recognised the value of African healing practices and became a leader in bridging the gap between traditional and Western medicine through research, teaching and collaboration. At the centre of this journey is Professor Nceba Gqaleni, whose work has helped position the University at the forefront of integrating indigenous healing into mainstream healthcare in South Africa and beyond.

A chance opportunity has ensured that a University of Strathclyde (Scotland) PhD graduate and University of Natal (now University of KwaZulu-Natal) Master of Science in Biochemistry graduate who had set his sights on advancing his academic career has found himself as a midwife of a critical project. Today, Gqaleni is a leading advocate of a movement that has blazed the trail in putting African traditional healing methods in the mainstream of modern medicine.

Until UKZN had the foresight to incorporate African traditional health methods into its curricula, centuries of colonialism and decades of Apartheid had ensured that traditional healing remained on the periphery and was caricatured as inferior and backward while Western modern medicine was put on the pedestal as the standard. The perceptions of the one about the other had engendered mutual suspicion and disdain.

Thanks to fate, UKZN Research Professor of Traditional Medicine and Member of the World Health Organization Regional Expert Committee on Traditional Medicine, Gqaleni has been pioneering the cause to ensure that indigenous medicine is integrated with its Western counterpart towards a holistic way of healing the sick.

After returning from Glasgow, Gqaleni had taken a post as a junior lecturer to pursue his passion – biochemistry.

Reflecting about the journey traversed so far ahead of Africa Month, which is observed in May, he said: “My career has taken a different turn. I managed to get a post at the Medical School. I was keen to see how we can integrate the indigenous knowledge in disease prevention. When the Medical School executive was deciding they would like to integrate traditional medicine into the education of our Medical students, I was invited to be involved in the process.”

That was the start of Gqaleni’s ground-breaking work which has fostered a relationship between Western and traditional medicines. It started with a realisation that the modern-day medical doctor needed to appreciate the value of traditional healing when treating an African patient. The training was meant for Medical students.

He remembers that the initial engagements between the University’s Medical School (Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine) “were very difficult” because of the mistrust harboured by some of the traditional healers about working with doctors, who believed that the intention was to steal their sacred secrets. “The traditional healers asked why the University was suddenly interested in talking to them, why now? They said you want our secrets, your researchers come and take our plants and never come back.

“I said I can assure you, because I know you don’t know me, but I was raised to be trustworthy. I promise you that as we build this relationship, I won’t allow such things to happen. There’s been a change of leadership and there’s a change of strategy. There’s a sense of appreciation of the African Renaissance. There’s a need to impart indigenous knowledge to our students.” Thus, enduring trust was formed.

Subsequently, he found himself as the University’s champion in its dealings with traditional healers. The negotiations culminated in the signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the KZN Department of Health, the Medical School, and the traditional healers’ sector.

On the evening of the signing of the MoU in 2000, where not only the provincial Department of Health officials, but also the national and other stakeholders were present, the late Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini said something that struck a chord with Gqaleni. “He said medical schools have been at the forefront of the development of Western medicine. Traditional medicine has been affected by colonialism and Apartheid. I wish that this signing today will be a start of the development of traditional medicine.”

In 2007, a Research Chair in Indigenous Health Care Systems was established by the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology to lead research and teach postgraduate students. The UKZN allocated space for the creation of a state-of-the-art laboratory under the School of Health Sciences at the Howard College campus, prompting Gqaleni to focus on being a full-time researcher. “We were the first Chair on traditional medicine in the country,” said Gqaleni.

Some of the work of the Discipline of Traditional Medicine includes research; publishing a seminal book called “Foundations of African Traditional Medicine, A Nguni Perspective; curating training programmes for traditional healers on HIV and the implementation of medical referral letters endorsed by the Department of Health that traditional healers can give to their patients.

Today, the work extends to fourth-year Pharmacy students. He said: “We bring traditional healing practitioners to talk to the students about how they work, which is quite useful. We also got funding from the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) for KZN to train primary healthcare nurses on traditional medicine, with amazing results.”

The traditional healing sector acknowledges UKZN’s leading role in advancing the symbiotic relationship. Mr Musa Cele, a traditional healer and KZN Traditional Health Practitioners’ Forum secretary, which represents 11 districts in the province, said he started working with the University and Gqaleni since 2002. “UKZN has played and continues to play a big role in the work of integrating indigenous health methods in modern medicine. Some of the spin-offs from this work has been the two-way referral system, where patients can be referred by doctors to traditional healers and vice versa if needs be.

“Gqaleni has been a big supporter of the traditional healing sector. From our relationship, in 2024, South Africa started observing Africa Traditional Medicine Week on 31 August, which was started in Burkina Faso. We have had a lot of collaborations over the years, with UKZN at the forefront,” he said.

Cele concluded: “From the support including testing of traditional medicines in the laboratory to invitations to guest lecturing overseas student and showcasing our work at Ezimbuzini Herbal Market in uMlazi, UKZN has handed the baton to the Mangosuthu University of Technology and now the University of Zululand.”

Words: Langa Khanyile

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini