Atlanta Journal-Constitution Examines ‘Unlikely Alliance’ of Traditional Healers, Modern Doctors in Fight Against HIV/AIDS in Africa

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday examined the "unlikely alliance" in Africa between traditional healers and "practitioners of modern medicine" in the fight against HIV/AIDS. According to Dr. Virginia Davis Floyd, a visiting scholar at Spelman College, 85% of people in sub-Saharan Africa receive part or all of their health care and health education from traditional healers. She said, "Most people in Africa don't have access to primary health care. ... Since we don't have doctors or nurses in many of these places, the only primary provider is the traditional healer." Therefore traditional healers are now "being courted as the first line of defense against" HIV/AIDS, according to the Journal-Constitution (Poole, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/7). The full article is available online.