In the home stretch: the legalisation of African traditional healing in South Africa

Abstract

The overall aim of this article is to describe the current status of indigenous health care policy and to determine what progress has been made in translating policy principles into action. The article deals with the models for incorporating traditional health care into the official health care system; the present status of traditional health care and the rationale for legitimising it; the many complex issues involved in developing a policy on ethnomedicine, and an assessment of the progress made in respect of the legalisation of this kind of health care five years into the new order. The main conclusion is that, although great strides have been made, there are still some very serious constraints which are likely to inhibit the indigenous health care sector for some time to come.