In the recent past, the World Health Organization has adopted a deliberate policy of encouraging the development and utilization of traditional medicine in the primary health care delivery system. The policy is based on the sound recognition of the role that traditional healers are playing in health care delivery in most developing countries.

Many of the medicinal plants in Uganda's flora are used as crude medicines in various dosages and forms, including whole or crushed plant parts, powders, infusions, decoctions, tinctures, dried extracts and poultices. A number of these medicines have been investigated in recent times and found to either contain active substances that are therapeutically useful and used in allopathic medicine or produce clinical benefits that serve to authenticate or rationalise the traditional uses of these plants.

This booklet contains information on identity, uses, and methods of preparation of selected medicinal plants. The selected uses are based on the commonly known indications in urban and rural Uganda. Information was collected through the literature reviews as well as through interviews of traditional healers and community members in the THETA districts of operation (Apac, Hoima, Kampala, Kamuli, Katakwi, Mbarara and Mukono) and with biomedical health workers.

To the extent possible the names of the plants are given in the Ugandan languages of the various regions, namely Luganda, Runyankole, Lusoga, Runyoro, Lango and Ateso. Illustrations of the plants have been included to facilitate plant identification or authentication by traditional health practitioners, researchers, communities and others.

The booklet is a working document that we plan to continuously update and add to. We would therefore highly appreciate any comments and contributions to improve the informatiion herein. We hope that practitioners of herbal medicine and allopathic medicine as well as researchers and others interested in plant medicine will find it useful, especially given that verry little has been documented about traditional medicine and HIV/AIDS and other common illnesses.

It should be noted that the knowledge of treatment using these herbs has been gathered from researchers, ethnobotanists, experienced traditional health practitioners, and their clients. In case the condition does not respond to these treatments, it is advisable that patients should seek treatment from healers themselves or biomedical health workers..

AB. Kakooko
Researcher, Medicinal Plants