Eleventh International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

This paper focuses on the interaction between the biomedical establishment of South Africa and the country’s sangoma (religious healers) in the context of the ongoing tuberculosis threat. While some work has been done on this issue in the form of studies of specific regions of South Africa, my objective is to present a synoptic, country-wide overview. The relevance of the topic is multifaceted. Before COVID, South Africa was already in a three-pronged battle against TB, as it dealt not only with tuberculosis itself, but also with HIV/TB coinfection and multi-drug resistant TB. By having to devote so much attention to the pandemic, the health system has lost both resources and focus for this struggle against TB. While the sangoma are viewed with suspicion by many in the world of biomedicine, they are trusted and sought out by large numbers of the population. As such, there are roles they can play in the country’s attempt to eradicate this disease. This essay is based on my work in the field of religion and medicine, applying theory regarding the relation between Pre-Axial traditions and modernity as well as literature review to the topic. The paper acknowledges potential problems regarding the health system embracing these traditional healers—it is because of such problems that there has been interest in the government issuing regulations regarding sangoma practices. Yet, despite these factors I argue that the sangoma should be utilized in this fight, given the status they hold in the broader society.