The Councillor of Berseba Constituency, Jeremias Goeieman, has called on the government to recognize traditional medicines and regulate their use.

Speaking in the National Council, Goeieman argued that traditional medicines are more affordable and accessible than conventional treatments.

He added that traditional medicines have properties that could stabilize hormones and strengthen the immune system.

"Traditional medicines are more accessible, affordable, and acceptable by the local population; although the use of traditional medicine is common in countries like South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, Namibia has not yet recognized the use of traditional medicine, and this begs the question: why? I'm not campaigning for traditional medicines at the expense of conventional medicines, but I beg the Ministry of Health to please look at whoever is regulating the use of pharmaceuticals in this country to do research on traditional African medicines and then regulate the use so that all of us can have access to health."

Goeieman, who grew up in a village, cited some examples of traditional medicines used in his village as ways of treating diseases, such as boiled dung used to treat measles and ostrich egg shells to treat flu.

"I was burned by boiling water on my ankles and buttocks; I cannot recall being taken to a health facility. They used the ochre, which women use for beauty or grain tea, to treat these burn wounds, and up to this day no one would see any scar of that burnt wound."

The Rundu Rural Constituency Councillor, Paulus Mbangu, also spoke highly of the Moringa tree.

"We have a Moringa project in Rundu Rural Constituency; the product from the inland is fine, but the Moringa product from Kaisosi, which produces moringa oil, moringa seeds, and moringa tea, has a huge market in Germany."

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Serafia Nadunya