Biomedical and ethnomedical practice in rural Zaire: contrasts and complements

Abstract

Some health care planners and scholars who work in developing countries have advocated the promotion of some form of cooperation, or even integration of the medical services of biomedical practitioners with the services of local healers. This paper discusses issues that mus be addressed in the consideration of such possibility in a rural community in Zaire where the "dual use' of medical resources is evident. After briefly outlining the characteristics of the biomedical and ethnomedical systems that now exist, the strengths and weaknesses of each system are evaluated and compared. In promoting cooperation between different types of practitioners, project planners, it is argued, should consider the strengths and weaknesses of each type of medical practice and should seek to improve the use of existing medical resources. The paper concludes by outlining a series of progressive stages of contact among practitioners that could lead to a system of mutual referral.