PRESENTATION
MADE AT THE PARLIAMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
29 AUGUST
2006
BY
PROF N GQALENI (Acting Deputy Dean)
NELSON R
MANDELA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
The Nelson
R Mandela School of Medicine embarked on a process to collaborate with Traditional
Healers in 2000. This was motivated by
the fact that it is not acceptable for newly qualifying doctors to have no
understanding that their prospective patients will have consulted a traditional
healer before seeing them or vice versa.
They need to understand how to deal constructively with this situation,
in the interest of their patients.
The
process led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the
KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Healers Council and the Nelson R Mandela School of
Medicine witnessed by His Majesty, King Zwelithini kaZulu and Dr Manto
Tshabalala-Msimang. Since this we have
introduced education programmes for our students where healers lecture. Students also choose to do research
electives on traditional medicine. This
year the focus of the Students’ Clinical Conference had a strong focus on
traditional medicine. They invited a
number of traditional healers as guest speakers. We saw this as a positive development.
We also
have a number of projects on traditional medicine as well as on fostering
collaboration between traditional healers and health care centres in
KwaZulu-Natal. We are part of a
multi-institutional study, funded by the NIH, investigating the contribution of
Sutherlandia in managing patients
with early HIV infection. This study is
taking place in Edendale Hospital and we have in the team doctors, scientists
and traditional healers.
From the
trust we have developed with traditional healers in this province, they have
felt comfortable to engage us in the research and development of specific
traditional medicines that they have brought to us. However today I will focus my presentation to the work we are
doing on Ubhejane.
I first
met Mr Gwala, the inventor of Ubhejane, in 2004 at a conference organized by
the Department of Health in Kopanong Conference Centre. Mr Gwala was a speaker at this conference
and I joined him to translate his presentation from isiZulu into English. Following this meeting I went to meet him at
his practice in Pinetown and was impressed by the work he was doing. It was only in mid-2005 that Mr Gwala
approached me with Prof Vilakazi and we discussed doing research on
Ubhejane. Following a number of
meetings we agreed to work together.
There is
empirical evidence on the positive impact of Ubhejane on patients. These include improved quality of life and
wellness. There are anecdotes to the
effect that Ubhejane improves CD4 and reduces viral load of patients infected
with HIV. According to Mr Gwala, he
prescribes a two-course traditional medication; one targeting CD4 and the other
viral load.
Our course
of action has involved a pre-clinical (test tube) evaluation of Ubhejane. Fundamentally to establish in a laboratory
situation whether the claims made can be validated. We have set a series of experiments in test tubes to achieve
this. Our preliminary data indicates
that the claims being made by Mr Gwala may have a scientific basis. However, we could only complete this work by
actually doing the study on humans as we may not extrapolate these test tube
findings to implications for humans.
In the
process we have to make choices as to which of the two courses we have to
progress to a clinical trial on humans.
Will it be the course that improves CD4 or the one that reduces the
viral load? Of course, another
challenge is that we must ensure that our work complies with the Biodiversity Act which will take effect
from January 2007.
What is necessary for us to move forward is the
following:
1.
Full disclosure by Mr Gwala.
2.
An appropriate IP regime (patent, trademark, etc.) to
ensure that Mr Gwala’s IP is protected
3.
Standardization/dosage form/phytochemistry/quality
control/Good Manufacturing Practice.
4.
When the above three satisfied can we prepare for an
application for clinical trial and subsequent MCC registration.
5.
The challenge will be obtaining ethics approval as
these committees find it difficult to make decisions on traditional medicines
at this stage.
6.
Injection of research funds to fast-track this
promising project. With financial
resources it will be possible to engage a number of research institutions in
the country, which will bring results much more faster.
7.
Clearly, though not the primary focus, it will be
necessary to understand the possible interaction of Ubhejane with ARVs.
In the
words of Mr Gwala “when all is done I do not want my name to be in the books of
history, I want South Africa to be known to have a traditional medicine that is
helping its people and the people of the world. That is why I am subjecting it to scientific scrutiny such that
it is scientists who must answer the question, what does Ubhejane do and how
does it work”. This is what we are
attempting to respond to as the University of KwaZulu-Natal within the
resources we have. We need every support
we can get such that we can focus on good quality science.