Everything in order

Muti is the colloquial term for herbal medicine in South Africa. Sometimes Muti can cure you of ailments that aren't medical, such as not winning the lottery. The term Muti can have negative connotations because of the occurrence of Muti killings, where humans are killed for their body parts to be used as ingredients in Muti. I'm not sure how common Muti murders actually are in South Africa, but I do see them being reported in tabloids.

Is this any more dubious than official lottery advertising?

Family die after ingesting herbal remedy.

This brief article from the Mail and Guardian reports that 13 family members died in KwaZulu Natal after ingesting a concoction of herbs that their son, a trainee herbalist, had put together for them.

A large part of the herbalism industry that isn't apparent from the fliers that I post to this site is the damage it does to people. The article given above is an extreme example, but the harm done by herbalism is extensive and real.

The type of herbalist found in the article is different from that seen in Snake Powers fliers. The herbalist in the article was being trained by a member of their community to take on a traditional role of their culture. The herbalists advertising through the fliers I post are from foreign cultures (from other parts of Africa) and seem to be parasitic. My gripe with both is the same though: medicines should not be administered without being subjected to trials to test for their efficiency and safety. This is a tall order.

I find it difficult to imagine effective measures to control herbalism. In the case of the charlatans preying on the masses of poor and desperate people in this country, the ideal solution probably isn't in legislation, but rather in public education. Apart from the very serious cases where herbalists perform abortions and promise to cure AIDS, the most that they could be accused of is false advertising. The same sort of industry caters for upper class society in Homeopathy and the like (check out Ben Goldacre's Bad Science for a wealth of examples), but selling junk products by promising a better life seems harmless when the customers are able to afford it. Sadly the people tricked by herbalists promising a solution to their unemployment problems "within 24 hours or your money back" are usually not as easily able cope with the herbs not delivering results.

A large reason why South Africans are so easily tricked into believing that herbs could solve their marriage problems is the persisting existence of 'traditional healers' and the belief in supernatural powers. The South African government quite rightly does not want to erode traditional cultures. In the case of not eroding the cultural roles of herbalists or 'traditional healers' this is often accompanied by the belief that subjecting traditional African healers to the same regulatory criteria as western medicine is presupposing that western medicine and regulations are better than those of African traditional healers. This belief is championed by the South African health minister, who is still around despite strongly supporting the move to treat AIDS in South Africa with garlic and beetroot instead of 'western' antiretrovirals. She said in 2008 that traditional African healers should not be "bogged down by clinical trials" as they had been in use for thousands of years.

A problem illustrated by the tragic case of the 13 family members accidental poisoning is that allowing traditional healers free reign, which can potentially be fatal. However, subjecting healers to the same protocols as other medicines would be impossible, if not because of the difficulty of enforcing such a deeply entrenched cultural practice, then because this would require such a large amount of funding that it would massively reduce the healers' ability to compete. This would infringe on African culture in an unacceptable way. So, although a move to regulate traditional healers would appear to encroach on African tradition to appease western methods, it effectively deprives people belonging to African cultures of the benefits of western standards.

[Edit: Simone points out that a large part of the problem is that most people who use traditional healers in South Africa do not have access to adequate healthcare and rely on herbalism as no alternative is present. She suggests that improving access to healthcare would be the ideal solution to the dangers of untested herbs.

Physicians per 100,000
France - 329
UK - 166
South Africa - 69

(WHO 2004)]

This one uses the same names and numbers as the one seven back from this one, 'Marriage Consultant and Psychic'.

I walked through Wynberg yesterday and was somewhat astounded by the recent developments. It's been a few months since I was last there. I've always known the area as being a bit run down, with every third shop on the main road being unoccupied. I found yesterday that a large tract of land on the main road has been cleared for the construction of a new 'upmarket' housing development. A strange source of evidence of the area's gentrification can be found in the Herbalists.

The Herbalists now sell Aloe Vera products. The front of the shops are almost indistinguishable from upmarket Body Shops. The products are professionally packaged and I'm confident that many of the products can be found in stores in Cavendish Square (an upmarket shopping mall two suburbs down the main road). The products include dietary supplements and skin products.

There are some Herbalist stores on the main road that keep the backroom-clinic appearance that I was expecting. There are more Herbalists now and at least two are now selling professionally packaged health/cosmetic products. I'm sure this is a sign of something, something macro-economical.

I saw a shocking 3 minute video clip that I think was shot for a documentary on alternative medicines for AIDS. The fliers that I post will sometimes state upfront that they can't cure AIDS, but can help the symptoms. Other times vague wording is used that hints at treatment. I'm not sure if this is a deliberate or if it is the result of the advertiser not being a first language English speaker.

The people on this short clip were quite confident in their ability to cure AIDS. The clip had an interview with this man. The clip also shows a woman with HIV asking whether she should continue her use of anti-retrovirals if she wants to take Ubhejane. She is told that she shouldn't take them both as there are no studies on how safely the two medicines integrate. She is also told that the Ubhejane will cure her in a short period of time.

I've been told by friends who live in townships that there are a large number of herbalists there from other African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya (the fliers that I post are mainly for foreign herbalists). These herbalists are apparently often seen as being more powerful than local herbalists as they use more exotic herbs. The sense of exotic magic used is similar to the popular stereotypes that you would find in Hollywood films: Japanese/Chinese, Indian, Native American and Jamaican. The clients are told that consultation costs R30-R50, or sometimes a bit higher for AIDS consulation, a nominal fee in comparison to that of the actual herbs, which are shipped in from far away mystical locations. This may soud a bit cynical of me, but I think the actual prices of the herbs depend on how gullible you are and how convincingly they trick you. I heard that the costs are usually around R1000 a month, which in the case of most people living in the townships is if not the majority of their mothly wages, a very significant portion.

More info on the treatment of HIV/AIDS: Treatment Action Campaign