TCM in a bid to tackle chronic diseases in Kenya

Doctor plans to promote traditional medicine in a bid to tackle her homeland's chronic diseases

A Kenyan doctor trained in China plans to promote the use of traditional Chinese medicine in the country in an effort to combat the chronic diseases that have become a big challenge.

Doctor Lali Sharifu, who holds a degree in clinical Chinese medicine from Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, says TCM is effective in the treatment of chronic diseases, gynaecological problems and dermatology issues.

In Kenya, chronic diseases account for 27 percent of deaths and more than 50 percent of total hospital admissions, according to the Ministry of Health. The major diseases affecting the country are cardiovascular conditions, cancer, diabetes and obstructive pulmonary disease. Their increase has been attributed to adoption of unhealthy lifestyles.

"Kenya has for a long time been dependent on conventional medicines whose success in managing chronic diseases has not been great. I think it's time that the country changed the focus to TCM, which has proved effective in treating those diseases in China," Sharifu says.

Unlike the Western approach to treatment, where general health is regarded separately from disease, TCM considers health to be a balanced state and disease to be an unbalanced state.

While a doctor using conventional medicine might be most interested in critical signs like blood pressure, weight and temperature, one using Chinese medicine will examine the whole person, with his interest extending to the person's physical aspects like spiritual state, relationship with family and stress.

A conventional doctor will prescribe the same medicine for all patients with similar symptoms, while a TCM doctor will treat people with similar problems differently - looking at the needs of each individual and those of their unique body.

Sharifu, who is currently pursuing doctoral studies in obstetrics and gynecology at Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, says that upon graduation next year she will focus on sharing her knowledge of TCM with Kenyans.

"At first, I may consider employment, but in the future I plan to open my own clinic so that I can teach local doctors to use Chinese medicine," she says.

She also challenges African governments to embrace and develop their own traditional medicine.

"Africa is rich in herbs that have long been used by traditional doctors. The only challenge is that research has not been done to find out the kind of chemicals they contain and ascertain whether they are poisonous or not," she says.

Sharifu plans to establish a research foundation in partnership with local and Chinese people to carry out research into African traditional medicines. Her wish is to see African remedies used as alternative treatments.

According to the World Health Organization, about 80 percent of the population in developing countries depend on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. This is because conventional medicine, which has origins in the West, is not accessible to, or the first choice of, everyone.

Sharifu's story is, however, not only about her professional achievements or her passion for the management of chronic diseases. She represents one of the few historical links the Chinese have with the Kenyan coast. Her ancestry can be traced back to the Chinese Ming Dynasty and East China's Jiangsu province.

Her grandmother's great-grandfather was one of the sailors in the fleet commanded by Zheng He, a famous Chinese navigator at the time. He was among the survivors of a ship that capsized on the high seas near Shanga more than 600 years ago. A few sailors swam to safety and integrated with the local Swahili community, intermarrying with them. That history has made Sharifu one of the most cherished guests in China.

However, her star was dimming 10 years ago, as her father, Sharifu Lali, a fisherman, could not afford the fees for her higher education. Full of passion and determination, Sharifu wrote a letter to the Chinese embassy requesting a scholarship to study in China, a request that was granted. In 2005, she joined Nanjing University and graduated in 2012. She completed a master's degree in Western and Chinese Medicine three years later.

She plans to return to Kenya next year after her doctoral studies, to pursue her career dreams.