INDIGENOUS HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS IN UMANA-NDIAGU

In 1997, the World Bank released a report that pushed the interest of scholars to the concept of Indigenous knowledge and technology. This report was an eye-opener and has since then led to increased attention to the concept of Indigenous knowledge within the academia and the development institutions. Though there is not yet unanimous perception of the concept of indigenous knowledge but the report used the definitions offered by Warren (1991) and Flavier (1995). Indigenous knowledge (IK) is the local knowledge – knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. IK contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by universities, research institutions and private firms. It is the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, food preparation, education, natural-resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities Warren (1991). It is an aspect of indigenous technology which refers to “the internally generated methods of learning and expressing grass root initiative in technology Okpoko (1999). This World Bank report also stressed on why indigenous knowledge is very important; according to the report, in the emerging global knowledge economy, a country’s ability to build and mobilize knowledge capital is equally essential for sustainable development as the availability of physical and financial capital. (World Bank, 1997) The basic component of any country’s knowledge system is its indigenous knowledge. It encompasses the skills, experiences and insights of people, applied to maintain or improve their livelihood. Indigenous knowledge is developed and adapted continuously to gradually changing environments and passed down from generation to generation and closely interwoven with people’s cultural values. The report believes that Indigenous knowledge is also the social capital of the poor, with main asset and aim to invest in the struggle for survival, to produce food, to provide for shelter or to achieve control of their own lives. This report also warned that, today, many indigenous knowledge systems are at risk of becoming extinct because of rapidly changing natural environments and fast pacing economic, political, and cultural changes on a global scale.