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Forging a relationship with Complementary Healthcare systems - a new age of collaboration for health and wellness in the 21^st Century.

By Dr. Bianca De Canha

Since the introduction of homeopathy to South Africa in 1820, the homeopathic profession has undergone great advancement as well as evolution. Through our registration with the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA) and the tertiary education offered by the Durban University of Technology and the University of Johannesburg, homeopaths have become key players in the maintenance of health and well-being in the South African context. This is especially evident in our tertiary training facilities as well as in our community clinics where thousands of members of the public are offered basic healthcare services as well as homeopathic care at a nominal fee, with remarkable results.

The greatest challenge experienced as a homeopathic profession in South Africa includes a lack of understanding of the qualification and registration of a homeopathic practitioner, a lack of understanding by the medical fraternity as to where a homeopathic practitioner and homeopathic care fit into the current model of healthcare, an inability to access those in need of basic healthcare owing to the fact that there is no place in a primary health care setting in South Africa for Homeopathy and especially, that with the lack of a Policy on Complementary Healthcare for the incorporation into the National Health Insurance policy. This is a shared problem across all the professions registered with the AHPCSA.

Homeopaths in South Africa have an immense amount of support from the public who have, due to customs and generational knowledge, enjoyed much relief and use of traditional and complementary medicines. Couple this too with the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic and the awareness of health that this has created, the public now realises more than ever the importance of maintaining good health. The South African population is not only ready for better health choices, we now see that they are demanding it.

The HSA is taking steps to remedy this for the better of the profession of Homeopathy. In this way, we believe, homeopaths to be a vital component of the healthcare system - a diagnostically trained triage officer. This is not in a way to replace medical practitioners, but rather alleviating the heavy burden placed on our medical doctors, healthcare facilities and an overburdened healthcare system, through services of basic health care as well as healthcare education and awareness.

It is the intention of the Homeopathic Association of South Africa, representative of the South African Homeopath and advocate for homeopathic incorporation into our healthcare system, to address the following key areas in this presentation:

1.      The extensive research, usage and acceptance of homeopathy internationally as well as locally

2.      What strategies we have, as a professional association, put in place to create awareness about homeopathy and advancing the homeopathic profession.

3.      How we can start to work together in the multidisciplinary systems intended by the NHI

4.      How we can work as a collective to enhance the awareness of those professions under the AHPCSA in a way that is safe for the public

If the profession of homeopathy succeeds, this could mean growth for other professions in similar circumstances and the advancement of complementary medicine and therapies. Our collaboration at this time is key to our success.

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