The Sunday Mail
Religion Writer
TRADITIONAL medical practitioners have urged Government to safeguard forests as environmental degradation is threatening traditional herbs. Zimbabwe National Practitioners Association (ZINPA) president, Sekuru Friday Chisanyu said deforestation is affecting their practise. “Human population is growing and there is need for responsible authorities to set put up measures that protect natural resources such as trees and wild animals as they play a key role in curing diseases.
“Half of the top ten prescription drugs in the world are of animal, plant, or micro-organism origin.
“Our debt to the biosphere is dramatically increased when we look at cancer medications. A remarkable three-quarter of anti-cancer drugs spring from the web of life.
‘‘That is why we are making this plea to those in authority to educate people about the dangers of destroying the environment.”
He said nearly 90 percent of human diseases known to medical science can be treated with medicine derived from nature.
“The benefits of nature-derived medicines to humanity are incalculable in terms of longevity, relief of suffering and increase in the quality of life.
‘‘Think of the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be provided to those that discover, grow, harvest, process, and market medicine.
“Government needs to support us so that even what we say has value. The problem is that most people do not want to be associated with nangas (traditional healers), yet we are saving lives.
“Many of nature’s medicines have become so integrated into our daily life such that we don’t think of them anymore. Yet these medicines represent an irreplaceable cornerstone of the foundation of modern society.
“There are people who come in from other countries in order to access our traditional medicine, bringing the much needed foreign currency. This is the religious tourism that Minister Walter Mzembi (Tourism and Hospitality Industry) is always talking about,” said Sekuru Chisanyu.
“Accessing healthcare nowadays is expensive. There are massive costs involved in caring for people prematurely incapacitated by, for instance, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, rampant infections or diabetes.
“But it should be noted that God created the earth’s forests as major contributors to the treatment of disease and for the provision of relief to those suffering. We need to preserve them,” he said.
