After several minutes of searching online, I came across an interesting article about the application and acceptance of traditional knowledge in Uganda by Westerners. I tried to include the link to the article in this post but it won't let me for some reason.
Nevertheless, it can be found in African Business, January 2006:
Uganda, home of 30% of the world’s healing plants, have been threatened in the past by big, western companies taking over their traditional medicines and plants. Many pharmaceutical companies are attempting to negotiate harvesting rights for natural products in Uganda, although locals are skeptical. In a way, this reminded me of the threat of biopiracy as illustrated in Winona La Duke’s article “Wild Rice: Maps, Genes, and Patents”.
However, Mannatech seems to be the most promising and trustworthy.
Sam Caster, CEO of Texas-based healthcare provider Mannatech, was sparked with interest when Ugandan President Museveni claimed that “Glyconutrients… sugars that enhance the body’s defense mechanism are found in our natural plants.” After meeting each other, they banded to research the medical properties and usefulness of native plants. Ugandan chemists were especially excited because of the recent debate of the enactment of the Traditional Medicine Bill, which was “designed to integrate the traditional healing practices of rural Uganda into the national healthcare system.”
Mannatech Inc. has trained a handful of Ugandan chemists in the process of identifying, analyzing, and extracting the active ingredients, glyconutrients, of native Ugandan plants. Many have substantial nutrition value and discoveries could improve the quality of life. Ugandan chemists, with the help of Mannatech, is to identify suitable sugar carbohydrates in native Ugandan plants that can be utilized in dietary products designed especially to support the immune system against the effects of HIV/AIDS.
Since Mannatech is a billion dollar industry, with 350,000 marketing associates in some of the world’s most affluent countries and a major player in the nutritional supplement business, the Ugandan government can pride itself on having found a potential partner with some substance. Ugandan efforts can be made more productive and benefit from support of such a large, influential business.
I really enjoyed this article because it shows that there can be common ground between traditional environmental knowledge and the scientific background of the West. The partnership between Uganda and Mannatech serves as a blueprint for the future with Africa positioned to take the lead in the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS and the potential to make vast improvements in research using the world’s most nutritional and traditionally-used plants.
-Sharmin Dingle
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