‘Elevate traditional science’

Lazarus Sauti

ACCEPTED scientific expertise which is western, standardised and homogeneous have always been an important part of growth and development plans of countries within the world.

This leaves indigenous knowledge - the vast body of scientific expertise developed in diverse societies and cultures - discounted and ignored.

Because of this ignorance, the country is doing itself a great disservice by neglecting the problem-solving and enriching potential of its own traditions of science.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology, Professor Francis Gudyanga notes: “Indigenous knowledge is a knowledge system distilled from generations of scientific work anchored in rural communities.

It mainly involves traditional knowledge and therefore is different to the Western system of empirical, lab-based science.”

Professor Gudyanga adds: “Although indigenous knowledge is passed orally from generations to generations, it is valid and effective. Accordingly, it should be documented.”

To effectively benefit from our flora and fauna, indigenous products must be subjected to credible research and people must not make false claims about their efficacy or safety, otherwise they lose their credibility.

“Since indigenous knowledge mainly involves traditional knowledge particularly in the area of health where we have a lot of medicinal plants, we must subject these products to adequate research to remove some harmful components associated with them,” says Professor Gudyanga.

Despite the country having a vast selection of indigenous medicine, its healthcare system is still based on Western-style medicine, which is expensive and difficult to take into remote villages.

Consequently, the time in now to stop discounting traditional expertise and make use of this vast and valuable resource.

More so, it is time to recognise that there are different kinds of sciences and scientific expertise, and that all of them should be used for development and problem-solving.

Stakeholders in the science and technology field in the country should therefore explore and exploit this whole area of traditional knowledge so that the country benefits from its flora and fauna.

“It requires that players in the science and technology fraternity subject some of the medicinal plants to some scientific investigations to establish the active ingredients in them.

“Once that done, indigenous products can be patented, commercialised, produced in large quantities and they can also be purified,” Professor Gudyanga notes.

To effectively embrace traditional or indigenous knowledge, the Ministry of Science and Technology commissions researchers in universities and research development institutes to do further research on the matter.

Professor Gudyanga says: “We are working with stakeholder scientists and researchers from the University of Zimbabwe, especially the University of Zimbabwe School of Pharmacy, to explore the area of medicinal products from our traditional knowledge base.

“We are conducting lectures to groups of traditional healers who get certificates after a period of studies so that we really marry scientific healing and modern scientific practices.”

“It is a pity that this knowledge is rarely used in the country and Zimbabwe and her citizenry is suffering as a result.

“Foreigners have been coming to the country getting our genetic materials out of the continent for commercial purposes. They look at the genetic materials and mass produce them for commercial purposes. This should stop,” says Professor Gudyanga.

Indigenous knowledge should be retained in the continent and only commercialisation is the effective way of retaining this valuable knowledge.

For this to be effectual, the Government, training institutions, research institute and other important stakeholder in the field of science and technology should craft policies that enhance the commercialisation of traditional knowledge.

They should also religiously utilise the crafted policies to patent, commercialise, mass produce and purify indigenous products. They should also use the policies to determine the right dosages of medicinal products.

Zimbabwe should also establish and maintain repositories of indigenous scientific expertise. This means that the country should invest adequate resources in indigenous science through expanding the base of education and training in traditional knowledge systems.

This will also help the country to neutralise the bias against traditional knowledge and assist its inclusion in official policy.

Furthermore, the country should assist traditional healers in documenting traditional herbs and also assist them in packaging these indigenous products and selling them in a modern convenient way.

Zimbabwe should move away from the narrow thinking that the Western style of science is the only science there is.

To effectively move away from this colonial way of thinking, all players (the Government, Ministry of Science and Technology, universities, and research institutes must support the development of traditional medicine in the healthcare system and other areas through research.