Compliance to the legal and ethical requirements for the practice of traditional medicine: A cross-sectional study among traditional health practitioners in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Burkina Faso has a legal and ethical framework governing traditional medicine. However, compliance with these regulations by traditional medical knowledge holders, which is crucial to the progress of traditional medicine in Burkina Faso, is not documented. The objective of this study was to assess the regulatory and ethical compliance of traditional health practitioners' practices in Burkina Faso. This was a cross-sectional study, conducted from October 1 to November 30, 2020, among traditional health practitioners in four randomly selected health districts: Nongr-Massom (Centre region), Tenkodogo (Centre-East region), Diapaga (East region) and Dafra (Hauts–Bassins region). An anonymous structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data, data on compliance with regulations concerning the practice, establishments and traditional medicines, and data on collaboration between traditional practitioners and biomedical practitioners. Sixty-seven (67) traditional health practitioners, with an average age of 56 years, the majority being men (71.6%) participated in the study. Herbalists (43.3%) were the main professional category. The majority of traditional practitioners (82%) did not have a license to practice and most traditional medicine establishments (92%) did not have a license to open. The main reason for these non-compliances was the inadequacy of the regulations in relation to the contextual realities (61.6%). The regulations on traditional medicine are poorly known and complied with by traditional health practitioners in Burkina Faso. This calls for deep reflection on the legal future of traditional medicine in Burkina Faso.