Despite public attempts to modernize the health industry, some individuals still depend on traditional healers for therapy, particularly in rural regions.
The hospital gets numerous instances of patients who first sought therapy through traditional techniques, according to Dr. William Namanya, the Director General of Kibungo Referral Hospital, in Ngoma District.
This, he said, at times results into wounding a patient’s body and raising the possibility of infection.
Patients waiting for services at Kibungo Referral Hospital in the district of Ngoma during the week- long operational surgical camp.
From July 21- 29, the hospital will be conducting Operational Surgical Camp for the second time in collaboration with the Rwanda Surgical Society, where four surgical specialists will join the team of the hospital. At least 200 patients are anticipated to be treated.
Namanya claims that most patients diagnosed with various surgical diseases, mostly hernia, first visited traditional healers.
“Since the hernias do not even hurt, the patient keeps getting medicine from traditional doctors, which ultimately does not heal them,” he explained.
With time, he said, the illness worsens and the patient loses trust in the traditional doctor, prompting them to seek official treatment from health facilities.
To demonstrate the hazards of traditional healers, Namanya said the hospital got a child on Saturday last week who had been subjected to oral infant mutilation by traditional healers — a hazardous and sometimes deadly traditional or conventional dental malpractice.
Locally known as “gukura ibyinyo”, the practice involves a parent taking the sick child to a traditional healer, who blames the illness on “tooth worms”.
The parents had noticed fever and diarrhoea–both natural symptoms of teething in a baby.
Namanya said this process led to severe bleeding of the child, leading to loss of blood. In addition, the child’s gum had also been infected.
The hospital’s intervention included treating the infections and doing blood transfusion for the baby who was brought to the hospital in critical condition, according to Namanya.
He added that, among others, other hazardous traditional baby medical processes like “uvulectomy” (guca ikirimi) and “tonsilectomy” (gukata ibirato).
Namanya clarified that this traditional therapy leads to bleeding that can trigger infections as well as disease transmission such as hepatitis.
“When metal instruments are not sterilised, they can infect the patient with hepatitis, HIV or tetanus,” he warned.
Anastase Habyarimana, 46, from Kirehe District’s Nyamugari Sector, said he’s been suffering from hernia for almost 10 years. During this moment, a traditional healer was his first line of defense against this disease.
“I kept running to traditional doctors, until I found out that my situation was worsening,” he said.
While Habyarimana thinks that traditional physicians are capable of treating certain diseases, there are diseases beyond their ability..
Habyarimana claims that traditional healers are more costly than public health centres where Rwandans use health insurance, in relation to their restricted skills.
Sarah Nsengumukiza, a resident of Mugesera Sector, said “The best thing is to consult the hospital because traditional healers cannot accurately diagnose patients’ real problems.”
Nsengumukiza had an appointment for the haemorrhoid disease procedure she had for nearly four years on Monday.
Dr. Namanya said they’ve launched awareness campaigns through community radios and community events to encourage individuals to seek professional medical advice whenever they’re feeling bad.
Kibungo Referral Hospital was founded as a dispensary in 1932 and became a county hospital in 1984. After a collaboration with the Republic of China, it was further extended in 1997. In 2014, it was upgraded to a referral clinic.
