Traditional Healers: Gatekeepers of Scientific and Technical Knowledge
The 2nd International Conference on Traditional and Complementary Medicine was held at the La Aguada Drift Inn in Santa Elena Town, Cayo, from 26th to 28th September 2024. The Institute for Social and Cultural Research (NICH-ISCR) was pleased to support this paramount event organized by the Numasa Wellness Center and the Belize Medical and Dental Association. The theme was “Traditional Healers: Keepers of Scientific and technical Knowledge with the National and Regional Networks”.
This was a space for Traditional Healers, Complementary Medicine Practitioners and Medical Doctors to share experiences regarding medical and traditional practices. An appreciation of the vibrancy and importance of safeguarding, retrieval and preservation of our ancestral knowledge was expressed by all participants. This initiative driven by Lucia Ellis of NUMASA Wellness Resource Center, Dr. Marc Nadreau of Holistic Health Care, Dr. Maria Lucia Gonçalves and the Institute for Social and Cultural Research is a response to the call from the first conference. The 1st International Conference of Traditional Healers was hosted by Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo (UIMQROO) in Jose Maria Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico in May last year.
Other collaborators such as the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) joined us in fostering a message of empowerment and equity as seen in the theme: “Traditional Healers: Gatekeepers of Scientific and Technical knowledge”.
Much sharing occurred during the 2-days of conversations and presentations. They are grouped as recommendations under the following headings: Legislation and Policy, Research and Documentation, institutional framework, and Education and information dissemination, and Planning and Implementation.
At that event, it was realized that the presentations of the scholars, medical doctors and traditional practitioners in attendance were similar and a call for collaboration among medical doctors, academia and traditional knowledge bearers was fostered. A commemorative plaque identifying Belizean traditional healers was also unveiled.
The spirit of the conference is rooted in the National Institute for Culture and History’s agenda and in the Belize Culture Policy which outlines the need for Belize to engage in this caliber of conversation to identify ways how traditional medicine can be incorporated in the formal healthcare system for the benefit and well-being of citizens. The rich discussions at this conference underscored the importance of promoting dialogue between traditional practitioners of medicine and formally trained medical doctors on shared challenges, methods and the complementary uses of traditional and medical practices. These also sought to identify ways to bridge the gap that is prevalent in Belize, and the region, to resolve these challenges through policy work. For the duration of the conference a total of one hundred and six (106) people were in attendance consisting of fifty (50) medical doctors, eleven (11) contemporary medicine practitioners and forty-five (45) traditional practitioners.
The third International Conference on Traditional and Complementary Medicine is to be hosted in Guatemala 2025.
In addition to the formal conference setting, this event incorporated a field trip to the Belize Botanical Garden for participants to tour the medicinal trail, where many of the plants used for traditional healing methods are conserved in Belize. Additionally, there was a space provided for traditional healers to showcase and promote their products.
This event was coordinated by the Numasa Wellness Centre, the Belize Medical and Dental Association, the National Institute of Culture and History and was made possible thanks to the financial and technical support of the Belize Tourism Board (BTB), Belize Natural Energy Trust (BNE), Print Belize Ltd., The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, San Miguel Farms, Tropical Health and the Maria Goncalves Pharmacy and Medical Clinic.
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Written by Sigourney Allen
Research and Education Assistant, NICH-ISCR
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