Integrating African Indigenous Knowledge into Healthcare Systems: A Pathway to Sustainable Epidemic Management in Africa

Abstract

The rise in infectious disease outbreaks in recent years has severely strained the healthcare systems of developing African countries, a challenge further compounded by changing environmental conditions. Consequently, there has been a growing demand for the inclusion of African Indigenous Knowledge (AIK) and philosophies in mainstream healthcare to achieve a holistic approach to health and to better manage prevalent epidemics. This study examined the possibilities and challenges of formally integrating AIK-based healthcare into conventional medicine to contribute to more sustainable, resilient public health solutions. A literature search was conducted for this narrative review, and the analyses were descriptive, guided by the ethnomedicinal theory. The review revealed that the integration of AIK-based healthcare systems into modern medicine has significant potential to combat public health crises across the continent. It also showed that despite these significant benefits, structural challenges exist in merging traditional and modern healthcare practices due to the foundational diversity between the two systems. The study recommends that African communities should embrace an interdisciplinary health approach in which traditional and scientific knowledge systems operate as congruent rather than competitive models.