Analyze/“We do not inherit the land from our parents but we borrow it from our children” is a warning message brought to the attention of a collective memory, a large part of which lives in denial, or in a scepticism which denotes an assumed desire to be concerned only with the present moment, in order to satisfy particular interests for as long as possible whatever the cost. If Men is indeed aware of the fact that everything He needs is found in nature, He is not always ready to demonstrate in turn, through concrete and virtuous acts, this same generosity towards a set of other ecosystems, which suffer more from the repercussions of the bad practices of a human species, more concerned with satisfying its selfish ambitions, rather than taking a new look at everything that surrounds Her, in order to become more aware of the importance of nature in the survival of all living beings.

Everything we consume and produce always comes from another part of ourselves, or from a succession of other essential ecosystems in the life of a set of individuals, who have a duty to care for themselves and the nature in which they live, so that health solutions, in particular, are not just instant but lasting. Indeed, “As demand for fruits generated by natural ecosystems increases, human action is simultaneously reducing the capacity of many ecosystems to meet this demand.”¹ Just as Men as an ecosystem needs other ecosystems to survive, they also need Him. Men draws from nature what He needs, while she needs Him to regenerate itself and be protected because “climate change affects all regions of the world. The polar ice caps, which are largely found in Greenland (North-Eastern of North America) and the continent surrounding the South Pole (Antarctica), are melting, while ocean levels are rising. Some regions are experiencing more frequent precipitation and extreme weather events, while others are facing increasingly intense heat waves and droughts.”²

Men needs an environment that needs Him even more. If He indeed finds there everything He needs to provide both modern and traditional health care, these ecosystems which surround Him need Him even more to preserve their perishable resources because "our health depends on services and functions of the ecosystems in which we live; in particular their effects on the quality of water, soil, air, nutrition, disaster risk reduction, are essential basic elements in sustainable health”³ which is a precious good that requires action today for tomorrow, so that following generations can take over from a responsible commitment to the service of humanity.

Even though what is chemical always has a natural basis, many prefer treatments with plants in their raw state. Image source: millymenthe.com

Health through natural plants: another therapeutic approach

Whether in Africa or elsewhere, health through plants in their natural state occupies a special place. Even though what is chemical always has a natural basis, many prefer treatments with plants in their raw state. Even if it is always on the basis of several plants which are found nearby in Africa or elsewhere that we manufacture among many others drugs such as: "aspirin to relieve among other properties "pain thank to the “salicylic acid contained in Willow bark, and quinine to treat malaria using the bark of the Cinchona tree”⁴, the preference for what is natural is explained on the one hand according to experts by the fact that: “natural medicine treats the human being as a whole and not just based on their symptoms.”⁵ Conventional medicine would therefore be more asymptomatic; that is to say, it allows patients suffering for example from diabetes, high blood pressure and certain kidney diseases among others, to not present any symptoms of the disease while remaining ill. The other reason is this: the choice for traditional or natural medicine denotes a certain clear desire not to consume too many of these chemical products which certainly have their usefulness, but which weaken an organism which heals better thanks to natural care which certainly have a cost, but which are more advantageous than products which are the result of more profound transformation which over time, have negative impacts on health in particular the risk of developing undesirable effects which would be less considerable when the treatment is done using natural plants which however “should not be used without knowing the contraindications and limitations of use.”⁴

Also read: Quality medicine: Between charlatanism and imposture, a cure and discernment is essential

Aware of the effectiveness of traditional medicine or health through natural plants and its delay compared to conventional medicine, several specialists in biomedicine, or natural plant medicine in Africa and Cameroon in particular have not waited for government measures to make their contribution to the gradual exit of their activity from an informal and precarious framework through a modernization of their working environment and their mode of operation or treatment of patients which involves serious consultations which demonstrate that they pursue the same goal as conventional medicine, namely: provide well-being to a population that really needs it. When we are indeed aware of the effectiveness of the activity we carry out, we try to take it as seriously as possible so as not to be accused of all names and especially of “a charlatan” in a world where ambitions are disproportionate and where even the lives of others are sometimes trivialized, to satisfy personal interests which have little or no concern for the lives of others, and even less for the natural environment which is the basis of the activity of those who made the choice to exercise this noble activity which continues to prove its worth, and which only needs to be better valued especially in African societies in particular because, awareness of the effectiveness of health through plants is not from today.

Nature is a storehouse of wisdom for those who put themselves at the service of others through an activity which requires a great deal of seriousness. Image: Bubinga tree- Guibourtia tessmanni. Source: levantinadeparquets.com

The submission and adoption of the bill organizing the profession of traditional medicine in November 2024 as well as its promulgation⁶ the following month in December 2024 by the President of the Republic is additional proof which certifies the effectiveness of a practice which continues to prove itself as has always been the case in the past. Indeed, according to medical experts, the one who is considered by them as “the father of medicine” and who separated it from religion and superstitions, used plants to provide care. Further proof that everything comes from the natural environment, and that nature is a storehouse of wisdom for those who put themselves at the service of others through an activity which requires a great deal of seriousness on the part of those who exercise it. And the responsibility is even greater on the traditional level because it must be taken out of a primitive stage which causes distrust among many, and even from conventional medicine which is never favourable to the use of a plant which has not been the subject of specialized laboratory research because it is concerned with having information certifying the effectiveness of these plants, while ruling out suspicions of toxicity that could hamper treatments administered in hospitals and other health centres because, if nature is full of virtues, ignorance of certain realities relating to the toxic power of certain decoctions can be fatal; hence “the intimidating regulations of biomedicine”⁷. 

Traditional medicine: another priority

It is not because the acquisition of the latest generation hospital equipment is a priority that we must minimize ancestral wealth, and prioritize what is not always within reach, or break with an ancestral habit which satisfies a vast majority of African populations in particular.

Also read: The difficulty in obtaining quality treatment in context of precariousness in Cameroun and in Africa: What solutions?

The source of well-being is found in nature. The harvest and sustainable use of wild species, or those that have not undergone human transformation, is undeniable. Not investing more in this direction means further contributing to degrading the planet's biodiversity. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is established on the basis of criteria applying to all plant species on the planet, and on several biological factors associated with the risk of extinction such as: population size, rate of decline, geographic ranges, degree of settlement, and fragmentation of distribution. The latest version⁸ 2024.2 reports 46,337 threatened plant species out of the 166,061 species studied. Among these threatened species, the study report lists 41% of amphibians, 34% of trees, 12% of birds, and 26% of mammals. Several plants are endangered, victims of herbicides, overexploitation and deforestation. The manifestations of this phase of extinction are visible on a planetary scale. In Cameroon, according to an article from lemonde.fr published in August 2021, “the pharmacopoeia of pygmies and their health is endangered by deforestation”⁹. A traditional practitioner declares that if before he found what he needed about ten kilometres away, at that time, that is to say when the author of this article collected this information in 2021, that was no longer the case; everything is disappearing.

In 2004 South Africa put ginger on its list of endangered species; It is such initiatives that must be multiplied not only to allow nature to regenerate properly, but also to promote a more reasonable use of natural resources such as Moabi (Baillonella toxisperma), useful according to experts in the relief of pain, rheumatism and haemorrhoids among others; the leaves of Okoumé (Aucoumea Klaineana) against diarrhea, and finally, among others, the bark, leaves and fruits of Bubinga (Guibourtia) which are used in the treatment of malaria, hypertension, typhoid fever and others. The alert level is high and requires joint initiatives from both village populations, politicians and private organizations who must make more effort to preserve a common heritage to pass on to those to whom we borrowed from.

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References

[1] Les écosystèmes et le bien-être de l’homme : un cadre d’évaluation

[2] Conséquences du changement climatique

[3] Santé et biodiversité

[4] Se soigner par les plantes : avantages et limites

[5] Pourquoi préférons-nous les médecines naturelles ?

[6] Le président Biya promulgue la loi portant exercice et organisation de la médecine traditionnelle

[7] Médicaments et médecines traditionnelles. Le cas d’interventions en santé internationales auprès des autochtones de l’Amazonie brésilienne

[8] La liste rouge mondiale des espèces menacées

Why should we avoid abortions?

daily health care and well being:how to take care of your mental health

The fight against medicines of dubious origins and the proliferation of unauthorized points of sale

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