Increasing attention is being paid to economic recovery in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. The term ‘recovery’ is problematic. It can imply a reversion to the way things were before Ebola. But rapid GDP growth then did not ‘trickle down’ – wealth remained concentrated in the hands of a small minority while poverty rates were among the highest in Africa. Economic diversification was minimal. The informal sector, which bore the brunt of Ebola, remains the dominant source of income in cities and rural areas alike.

Expert panellists Robtel Neajai Pailey (RNP), Ade Daramy (AD) and Biro Diallo (BD) discussed what needs to change in the way Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea manage their economies and how this might be achieved.

On Extractives

AD: Kono district has been the engine of mining in Sierra Leone for forty years yet it is a complete developmental backwater. I do not believe that extractives companies work in the long term interests of the country. Sierra Leone’s rapid GDP growth before 2012 was driven by mining, but where has it got us?

RNP: Liberia has an excellent revenue code. All six concession agreements signed since 2003 have included a requirement for social development funds. Deals cannot be struck without community or civil society involvement and scrutiny. However government oversight of implementation of provisions has been non-existent. We need a radical rethink on extractives. The sector was driving GDP growth of 7-8% but two-thirds of the population is below the poverty line. Agreements with mining giants like ArcelorMittal need to be revisited to ensure that more taxes are paid in-country, that there is greater accountability, and that they follow the rules and regulations set out in the legal code.

BD: I work in the mining sector but I am also a Guinean. I want all the industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects to work, but mining companies should not be confused with development agencies. We cannot change the fortunes of an entire nation on our own. Some projects we develop and hand over are then not properly run by the government or local authorities. People need to decide what they can realistically require from miners. If proper structures are laid down, we will have to follow them and we will be happy to do so.

On Agriculture

AD: One always hears about Sierra Leone’s high rainfall and fertile soil, but modern farming techniques are required to make the most of favourable conditions. Government only pays lip service to farmers. More support for small-scale farmers is essential and one way the government could help after Ebola is to provide seed funding. People are beginning to see the potential in agriculture and there is progress. Waitrose will be selling Karma Cola in 200 stores from July; ginger is being exported to Benelux. The potential of our marine resources also needs to be realised. We need to pretend that we never had mining when planning for the future.

RNP: Agriculture accounts for a quarter of Liberia’s GDP and half the workforce. But there is 80% food insecurity, land tenure systems need to change and large-scale land grabs are reducing access to land. The Minister of Agriculture has been very vigilant about seeking capacity building opportunities for young professionals at the Ministry. There are positive policy developments to build on, such as the 2009 Back to the Soil Initiative.  The economic empowerment of women is crucial. They are the backbone of agriculture, the informal sector and regional trade.

BD: In the coming lean season, one third of Guineans will be food insecure. Agriculture has not been very highly regarded in Guinea for various reasons. If you had an agriculture degree, people would look at you differently. But more young people are realising there is money in agriculture and the government is promoting it. Land is plentiful, but you also need capital and much better infrastructure. There are undoubtedly opportunities: it was only when regional markets collapsed due to Ebola that Guineans discovered tomatoes were grown in their country.

On Leadership

BD: The government gets blamed for everything in Guinea. If a tree falls down across the road, it’s the government’s fault. This is a negative legacy of the Sekou Touré era. That said, communication has been poor during the epidemic. Mining companies always want good, resolute leadership wherever they operate. Elections in October 2015 will be a judgement of how well President Alpha Condé has led the country.

AD: Ebola exposed the lack of trust between citizens and the state in Sierra Leone and compounded it. In 2013, there were suggestions that President Koroma would seek a constitutional mandate to run for a third term and his party seemed assured of another victory. Now, his handling of Ebola has finished off any prospect of a third term and his party could conceivably lose the election. Corrupt politicians are unconcerned by accusations levelled at them.

RNP: People are completely disillusioned with the government. In December 2014, Liberia held legislative elections for 15 senators. Only two were re-elected. During Ebola, citizens quickly realised that they had to take matters into their own hands. The US$604m draft national budget, if passed, allocates one third  of spending to government salaries against US$73m on health and a similar amount on education. A health care officer earns a fraction of a legislator’s pay. This sort of thing cannot continue. We have had a wake-up call.

On the Mano River Union (MRU)

AD: Just as Ebola did not separate the countries of the Union, neither should the response. The interconnectedness of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone can be an advantage. Planning across countries is essential.

BD: The MRU structure is there, it is a good platform to allow for discussion and the pooling of resources.

RNP: There has been some regional solidarity, but we need to do more together, for example in deciding and setting out exactly what we want from foreign direct investment in the region. Harmonisation of legal codes would be helpful and a regional medical centre of excellence would be a good idea for obvious reasons.

On Education

RNP: The government of Liberia needs to pay better salaries to health workers and teachers, give them better incentives, opportunities for learning and see it as a long-term investment in the country’s future.

AD: Ebola has exposed the fact that virtually nothing works in Sierra Leone. Many of the countries’ ills stem from the failure of education and health care. This has nothing to do with the civil war or Ebola.   Teaching is no longer regarded as a vocation in Sierra Leone and educational standards have plummeted. Miners earn three times the salary of teachers, so this is one reason why you get teachers who are only half-trained. The government needs to invest in education in order to change attitudes. The private sector must help. Instead of complaining about the low quality of staff larger companies should invest in educational facilities that meet their needs.

On the future

RNP: Liberia’s Agenda for Transformation is a solid document. It can be adapted and used to deliver inclusive growth, decent work, a living wage and basic social services. Profit has been put above people and GDP growth rates ahead of human development. We cannot go back to where we were, we need people-driven and people-centred growth.

AD: It has taken over ten years for people to see Sierra Leone as a ‘post-war’ country, so to become a post-Ebola ‘investment opportunity’ will require a concerted effort. The role for the private sector and diaspora should be to build on the development plans we have already drawn up, like the Agenda for Prosperity.

BD: The government needs to decide what it wants to focus on and then guide the key sectors – no government can do everything. Guineans do not need more plans, they are tired of plans. It is time for action.

Comments attributed to the speakers are not direct quotations 

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Despite its middle-income status, Nigeria’s health system cannot provide even a rudimentary level of care for most citizens – particularly in rural areas.  As the prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases increases, indigenous medical knowledge must be utilised. In Nigeria, but also globally, there is growing recognition of the need to integrate traditional medicine into mainstream health systems to bolster their ability to cope with an ever-increasing burden.

In the early 1990s Father Anselm Adodo, a Benedictine monk, became increasingly aware of the tragic inter-generational loss of indigenous medical knowledge in his locality.  In 1996, he founded Paxherbals at the monastery in Ewu, Edo State, to preserve this valuable resource and apply scientific rigour to the manufacture of natural remedies.

Two decades later, “Pax” is the largest private sector rural manufacturing enterprise in Edo State and an industry leader in Nigeria.  It is regarded as an undoubted success story, one of which the monastic and local communities are justifiably proud. Success is based on joint endeavour. While Pax has created many jobs in its factory and laboratories, and economic opportunities through its local supply chain, its neighbours are suppliers of knowledge, skills and raw materials. They are also consumers. Pax is firmly rooted in, and has transformed, its surroundings.

This Policy Voice documents how Pax professionalised the production of traditional natural remedies and set about demonstrating that herbal medicines can be a force for innovation and progress in health care. An estimated two-thirds of Nigerians use these products, often in tandem with orthodox drugs. But Anselm is adamant that open dialogue, scrutiny and regulation are crucial if negative perceptions of non-orthodox treatments are to be dispelled and the economic potential of the sector realised. More than 30 Pax products are government-certified.

For Anselm, and Pax, “traditional” medicine must be modern, professional and based on science if it is to contribute to improving health systems and outcomes. With appropriate federal and state involvement, thriving traditional medicine and pharmaceutical industries could be fostered in Nigeria; and the transformation that Pax and the local community have brought about in Ewu could be typical, rather than exceptional. Indigenous knowledge, resources and enterprise remain under-exploited.

The post Modern African Remedies: Herbal Medicine and Community Development in Nigeria appeared first on Africa Research Institute.

Interview with Anselm:

In 1996, Father Anselm Adodo established “Pax” at the Benedictine monastery in Ewu, Edo State to address what he saw as the consequences of an ever-increasing fixation with technological advances at the expense of nature. The initiative was conceived as an effort to reconnect with the natural environment through herbal medicine, in partnership with the local community.

Anselm recognised that a vast amount of valuable indigenous medicinal knowledge was being lost and sought to work with traditional healers to preserve what remained. Pax has gradually been able to convince healers to share their knowledge by establishing a relationship founded on trust and mutual respect. A common aim is to modernise and professionalise traditional medical practice, making it transparent and evidence-based.

The application of science and innovation in herbal medicine is important, but Anselm has also tried to replace outmoded views of science as something exemplified by men and women in white coats. The old farmer in a village in Kenya is a scientist: he knows about soil fertility and how much water a seed needs to grow. The purpose of science is the validation or rejection of a hypothesis. In this context, Pax has used indigenous knowledge as the hypothesis and science as the means of investigating the medicinal properties of plants, herbs and other natural resources.

Anselm does not talk about traditional medicine because traditional can imply rigidity, stasis and being stuck in the past. Perceptions are very important, not just in Nigeria but globally. He prefers the term “African medicine”, connoting something modern, innovative, uniquely African and, when done in partnership with the community, transformative.

From its origins in a small wooden hut Pax has grown to the extent that it now employs almost 150 staff. Today it has a large factory, modern research laboratories, a herbarium and three clinics. Raw materials are grown on communal farms. Perseverance, professionalism and stringent quality control have finally attracted attention from the government. By working alongside regulatory bodies and following their guidelines to ensure products meet required standards, Pax has become a respected name in a sector associated by some with charlatans and quackery. Pax is now advising regulators and health authorities on the evolution of the herbal medicine sector in Nigeria and the merits of partnership with orthodox medical care.

Pax’s success is based on an open and transparent partnership with the local community in Ewu – its suppliers and employees. Anselm is insistent that the Pax model of combining community, nature and science is a good one for the sustainable development of rural communities throughout Nigeria.

For Anselm, Pax is more than just a manufacturing or agricultural enterprise. It is a contribution to the necessary process of altering a common narrative of Africa being a continent asking for help to one in which Africa must – and can – help itself.

Questions

Q. What have you done to test the efficacy of your products? – Yemisi Bokinni, UK medical doctor

A. Clinical trials are expensive. In Nigeria, they have to be done in collaboration with government. Pax is keen to do this. Claims about the efficacy of our products are meticulously documented but not yet validated by clinical trials. However, 33 Pax products are certified by NAFDAC as safe to consume and we hope to increase this to 41 by the end of 2015. No other Nigerian firm has more than three products certified.

I encourage medical doctors and scientists to partner with Pax in carrying out research. At present most of our own research focuses on quality control, but we are open to partnerships to test efficacy.

Q. How do you separate the herbal practitioners who are doing it right from those who are simply quacks? – Professor Folayan Esan, Ekiti State University

A. More open dialogue could be the way forward. In this respect, Pax aims to be a bridge between academics, regulatory bodies and communities. I am a firm believer that once channels of communication are opened, significant progress will be made.

Q. Do you have links with China in product or policy development? Would you be interested in collaboration? – Maddalena Procopio, PhD Student at LSE

A. We have had several invitations to visit Chinese companies but my response has always been the same: come to Nigeria, then we can talk and see if we can work together. That must be the starting point – not just for Pax, but for Africa.

Video of Anselm’s talk:

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Audio podcast:

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