TRADITIONAL healers in Chimanimani district, Manicaland province are facing a severe challenge of accessing herbal plants in the area following the devastating Cyclone Idai, which washed away a lot of plants.<\/p>\n
For years, the district and neighbouring Chipinge have been renowned for being well-endowed with herbal plants and being a traditional healers\u2019 haven.<\/p>\n
However, in March 2019, a tropical storm, Cyclone Idai, hit the two districts and other parts of Manicaland, Masvingo and Mashonaland East provinces killing hundreds of people, displacing thousands others and destroying people\u2019s livelihoods.<\/p>\n
The cyclone also washed away some medicinal herbs and shrubs which traditional healers use to treat their clients.<\/p>\n
Herbalists and villagers who spoke\u00a0 last week confirmed the shortages of traditional medicine as a result of the Cyclone Idai.<\/p>\n
The herbalists said the most difficult plant to access was that of treating sexually transmitted infections (STIs).<\/p>\n
A popular traditional healer based at Tiya village, Sekuru Gora said he was no longer able to cure certain aliments because the herbal plants were washed away by floods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a herbal plant called Fuko, which grows along river banks. I used that plant to treat my clients suffering from infertility and period pains. This plant is now scarce because it was washed away by the rains,\u201d said Sekuru Gora.<\/p>\n
The traditional healer said he lost a lot of business during the festive season as he could not assist his clients seeking his services.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the Christmas holiday, I lost a lot of business as some clients from as far as South Africa and Botswana came seeking help. Even my local clients are also stranded because I cannot service them anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another popular herbalist based at Machongwe area, Musabhuya Chiropa who specialises in treating STIs and aphrodisiac herbs said he has been also counting his losses because of the cyclone.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitombo yangu yose yakatorwa nemvura (All my herbs were washed away by floods). I am now forced to travel to far areas to look for the herbs. I use different herbs to prepare my concoctions. I treat all types of STIs,\u201d said Chiropa.<\/p>\n
A villager who only identified himself as Zvata said most people in Chimanimani were now finding it difficult to seek assistance from local herbalists as they are now charging more money.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the cyclone, it could only take a hen for one to be treated for a disease like an STI. Now the healers are charging their services in the South African Rand or US dollars,\u201d said Zvata.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TRADITIONAL healers in Chimanimani district, Manicaland province are facing a severe challenge of accessing herbal plants in the area following the devastating Cyclone Idai, which washed away a lot of plants. For years, the district and neighbouring Chipinge have been renowned for being well-endowed with herbal plants and being a traditional healers\u2019 haven. However, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":17661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[128,808],"class_list":{"0":"post-17659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-community","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-cyclone-idai"},"yoast_head":"\n