Day Twelve
Our day started in the late morning with a visit to the National Phytotherapeutics Research Centre (NPRC) on campus. The NPRC’s main objective is to serve as a backyard pharmacy whereby people can cultivate their own plants for medicinal purposes. The Centre bases their work on the understanding that traditional medical practices are key to tackling Africa’s health challenges.
We had a fruitful discussion with Professor Nicholas K. Gikonyo about the vitality and prevalence of traditional medicine versus biomedicine. Gikonyo informed us that traditional medicine constitutes about 70-80% of the medicine practiced in Kenya. (In West Africa, the percentage is 80-90%.) Professor Nicholas was quick to point out the correlation between colonialism and the introduction of the pharmaceutical industry in Kenya; in 1826, France and Germany introduced new modes of medicine that were deemed “civilized” and more “reliable,” and herbal and traditional medicine was heavily demonized by colonizers who began conquering Sub-Saharan Africa, so much so that the ruling British government passed the Witchcraft Act of 1925 to prohibit “witch medicine” and to label traditional healers as “witch doctors.” With the forced imposition of Christianity in the territory, herbal medicine’s capacity to treat and heal was met with harsh skepticism and hysteria among colonizers. It was around this time when foreign education was imported into the country, all of which was packaged and exported from the West as a means to produce “better” medical science and healthcare.
In 1972, nine years after Kenya gained independence from the UK, the country ratified the use of alternative and traditional medicine. The Health Act of 2017 was enacted to elaborate on the human right to health outlined in Article 43 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya. It aims to establish a unified health system to coordinate the interrelationship between the federal government and county government health systems. It defines the responsibilities of both the national and county governments in relation to healthcare provision in Kenya. Over the course of the last two decades, the prevalence of herbal medicine has spread across the country, especially due to its cost-friendliness. The country’s varied ecosystems provide a plethora of plant extracts, roots, leaves, etc. for medicinal use.
After the group discussion, we were led on a tour of the Research Centre’s facilities by Dr. Katherine and Dr. Martin, an analytical chemist. Dr. Martin introduced us to the various types of equipment used to analyze plant extracts. One of them included the liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS), which is used to analyze contaminants in plant materials, pesticides, and drug molecules. Upon exploring the various labs and meeting medical professionals, we each got to sign a chalkboard filled with the signatures of other visiting students! We finished our tour by sampling some of the Centre’s finished products, which included teas, oils, porridge, and infused water. Some of us bought some teas and oils for our own herbal medicinal use.
We stopped by the Galleria Mall for a lunch break where several students tried coffee-infused boba. The last stop of the day was at Bomas of Kenya, a cultural site which showcases a repertoire of over fifty dances from various ethnic communities, filled with live percussion, string and wind instruments. Afterwards, we took a tour of recreated traditional homesteads (bomas) of various tribes in Kenya. Each ethnic group had a poster detailing the region they are from and the socio-cultural dynamics of that tribe. Many of the communities practiced polygamy. It is/was a common practice for chiefs to have multiple wives, each with their own personal hut varying in size depending on whether you’re the first, second, or third wife. Visitors get an opportunity to explore the insides of the huts.
At the end of a long day, we returned to the KUCC for dinner and much-needed sleep.
By Celeste & Charlie
