The Ugandan government is designing a policy to recognize traditional healers as regular medical service providers to boost the low doctor-patient ration of one doctor to 18,000 Ugandans, local media reported on Saturday.

Nelson Musoba, an official with the Ministry of Health, was quoted as saying that the healers made a significant contribution in the fight against AIDS and the government had given them a top priority.

The traditional healers are more than the professional doctors in Uganda, with a 1:400 healer-to-patient ration, according to the ministry.

Musoba said the public health law should empower authorities to provide a comprehensive ranges of services for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

"They are conceptually more appealing to the population and in term of counseling, they are superior," Musoba added.

Ugandan Health Minister Jim Muhwezi also said last week that the government was in the final stages of developing a national policy on traditional and complementary medicine which would be crucial in defining the role of traditional medicine in the national health care delivery systems.

In Uganda and Africa at large, up to 80 percent of the population use traditional medicine to help meet its health care needs. Traditional health practitioners are well integrated in the communities and they are major stakeholders in the health prevention.

Source: Xinhua