Chinese in Cameroon do healthy trade

Local doctors and healers are calling for government intervention

By Francis Ngwa-Niba in Cameroon

Cameroon is gripped by a bitter rivalry between its local doctors and traditional healers from China.

The West African country has over the past four years witnessed a boom in Chinese traditional medicine as many locals shun Western drugs and Cameroonian traditional herbs.

The proliferation of Chinese healers, clinics, shops, and even mobile drug vendors has been, to say the least, dramatic.

There is little public health authorities can do due to lack clear-cut regulatory rules in the country's health sector

The Chinese treat most diseases such as rheumatism, hypertension, typhoid fever and claim that their drugs can also treat Aids by reducing its viral load in the body.

Efficacy

Almost every town in Cameroon now has at least one traditional Chinese clinic.

There are up to six such clinics in big cities such as the capital, Yaounde and the commercial centre, Douala.

Chinese healers have spread throughout towns and cities

"I prefer Chinese healers to local doctors now," student Fomusoh George, 27, told me in Bamenda, North West Cameroon.

Fomusoh recalled how he suffered chronic stomach ache for more than three years and all attempts by Western trained and local traditional doctors to treat the ailment failed.

But after undergoing a two-month couse of treatment at a Chinese clinic in Bamenda, his problem was cured.

Many patients who have used Chinese medication claim the drugs are effective, relatively cheap and Chinese healers are more accessible than western trained doctors.

Beatrice Fuh, a locally trained nurse working for Chinese clinic, says out of 30 patients who visit the clinic every day, only one or two complain of being disastisfied with the treatment.

Communication

Chinese healers however find it difficult when communicating with their mostly French or English speaking patients.

Local collaborators are hired to beat the language barrier

A local accountant, Ngwewasang Martin, went for Chinese treatment but his insurance company refused to re-imburse him because they could not read and understand his Chinese prescriptions.

"Their drugs are very effective. I will still consult a Chinese clinic when I am sick even if my insurance company refuses to re-imburse me',' he maintains.

To overcome the language barrier, the Chinese healers have had to hire local collaborators.

Conflict

The popularity of Chinese medicine has not gone down well with Western-trained doctors operating in Cameroon.

They have dismissed most of the Chinese healers and their Cameroonian collaborators as quacks.

Doctor Folefac Alain, who works at the Bamenda government-owned hospital does not doubt the effectiveness of some Chinese healers.

Chinese medicine is said to more cheap and effective than western drugs

But he said: "So far, the patients I have been receiving (who were supposedly treated by Chinese healers) were poorly treated so I doubt if there are true Chinese healers in Cameroon. If there are, then Chinese medicine is bad medicine''

During its recent general assembly, Cameroon's medical council - which brings together Western-trained and traditional doctors - heavily condemned the Chinese traditional healers.

They called on public health authorities to clamp down on foreign healers by vigorously regulating the health sector and exposing bogus medicinemen.

However, there is little that public health authorities can do due to lack clear-cut regulatory rules in the country's health sector.

The current boom in Chinese traditional healing might not last forever, but its presence is likely to linger on for some time as long as it continues to satisfy patients.