Production of traditional medicine: preparations accepted as medicines in Mali

Mali is a West African country without a coastline. Its sanitary situation is characterized by the predominance of parasitic illnesses, infections and nutritional diseases together with an insufficiency of qualified health workers, medicines and equipment. Due to this situation, 80% of the population use traditional medicine. In the Bandiagara District a study has shown that only 19.4% of current diseases have been cured by conventional medicine. Generally traditional medicine has been through 4 stages: • the only means of therapy; • the clandestine practice; • the tolerance period; • the creation of a research institute to promote traditional medicine.

A symposium paper on the preparation of medicinal herbs from Mali's plant species.