News Article
January 23, 2012
Bridging a Pluralistic Health System in West Africa
In the U.S. and around the world, scores of people use traditional medicine as an alternative to clinical treatments and prescription drugs. In the West African country of Togo, where more than 60% of its population lives below the poverty line and where there is limited access to affordable health care, many sick people rely on traditional healers for treatment. With funding from the Aalok S. Modi Global Health Fieldwork Fund, Duke junior Kathleen Ridgeway (Program II in Global Health) conducted research on how malaria is identified and treated in Togo’s pluralistic health system. Watch the video to learn how she left her mark on the Togolese community of Farendé.