Integrated health in the province of Bandiagara, Mali

Abstract

Starting from an initiative of international cooperation between Mali and Italy 20 years ago, some conclusions are drawn about the usefulness of integrating the resources of local traditional medicine with those of conventional medicine. The techniques and knowledge related to traditional medicine are a valuable source of information that scientific disciplines have an interest in taking into serious consideration, and traditional practitioners are an essential resource for all activities related to public health. However, the impossibility of immediately translating and evaluating the integration of these two domains without mediation calls for specific skills and sensitivity on the part of the people involved in such activities so that all these resources are used. Some of the actions to promote a culture of collaboration and coexistence of different therapeutic resources and their outcomes are discussed in this article. 

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