The Role of Traditional and Orthodox Medicine Systems in Nigerian Rural Health Service Delivery: A Comparative Analysis

Traditional Medicine (TM) was the culturally accepted, known, and used medical system available and accessible to millions of rural and urban dwellers in Nigeria before the advent of the missionaries. The coming of the missionaries and colonial masters changed the health care delivery system with the introduction of Orthodox medicine (OM), a modern and scientifically validated system. This paper is a systematic comparative analysis of OM with TM to highlight the peculiar roles of each in rural health service delivery, drawing references and inferences from all over the world. The existing evidence of convergence was also proved. The paper concluded that it is difficult for a particular kind of medicinal practice to meet the needs of rural and urban dwellers because of cultural and ethnic variations. The peculiarities of rural health service delivery, the availability, accessibility, affordability, and effectiveness of TM make it an indispensable health care delivery for rural dwellers. This is made more relevant as a result of the neglect, isolation, and inadequate orthodox medicine infrastructure and personnel presence in rural areas. OM has exceptional usefulness in chronic cases requiring urgent and intensive care. Therefore, there is a need to infuse the two forms of health delivery as far as rural health delivery is concerned so that the disadvantages and deficiencies of one could be met by the other. In view of the comparison, it is recommended that TM should be officially recognized, tolerated, and infused into our orthodox health policy to meet the needs of both rural and urban dwellers.