Kasese District Development Network of Traditional Healers and Cultural Associations (KADDENETHCA)
Kaddenethca Logo - "Effort"
Kaddenethca is a network of Traditional Health Practitioners and Cultural Associations in Kasese District as well as the Rwenzori region western Uganda.
The overall objectives of Kaddenethca are:
To co-ordinate all traditional health practitioners (traditional birth attendants, herbalists, bonesetter and spiritualists) and cultural associations (legend tellers, blacksmiths and cultural dancers) in the Rwenzori region into one umbrella network.
To promote, preserve, and conserve indigenous knowledge for succeeding generations.
To promote standardisation, determine toxicology and quality control of herbal medicines to internationally acceptable levels.
To upgrade the skills of practicing herbalists
To lobby and advocate for Traditional Health Practitioners and Member Organisations.
To promote networking and enhance partnerships.
Kaddenethca is an NGO (non-government organisation) that has since time immemorial been advocating for traditional medicine as well as indigenous knowledge. Kaddenethca has been able to define Traditional Medicine as the sum total of all traditional health care systems which involves medicines used in the diagnosis, prevention and elimination of physical, psychological and social imbalances. It refers to the technical insight or wisdom gained and developed by people in a particular locality through years of careful observation and experimentation with the natural phenomena around them. This knowledge of the local people is an enabling component for development. It is related to the entire culture of the people including their identity, spiritual and religious beliefs.
Traditional health practitioners in Kasese and Rwenzori Mountain areas derive their capacity to treat and heal diseases by use of natural medicine, which is indigenous knowledge and well prescribed even in the Bible like the divine prescription of health in Exodus 15:22-27, which clearly explains the miracle trees.
This knowledge in healing and disease management is based on many generations of use and is gained through their close interactions with the material and non-material forms of matter.
The variations of health circumstances of man and animals from year to year mean that traditional health care systems must be dynamic to ensure efficacy and sustainability, most especially in the Rwenzori region where it is noted for its special characteristics such as cost effectiveness, availability, curative and accessibility, thus an effective health system.
There are many medicines that show great curative potential and the Rwenzori region is endowed with rich resources of natural medicines that have such great potential. Therefore for natural medicine to better play its roles, it requires promotion in its development, use and utilisation, and research to recognise its practice among others. There is also a need to document and advocate for its use. It is appropriate to acknowledge what indigenous knowledge, which includes natural medicine, has achieved in all fields of human endeavors. In the area of health care, diseases which western medicine has been unable to cure, are treated with ethnomedicine, hence strengthening local alternatives for health provision in the Rwenzori region and the country at large.
Kaddenethca has partnered with Blackherbals at the Source of the Nile, UG Ltd (BHSN) as a reliable supply source of wild-crafted herbs from the Rwenzori region and Blackherbals' African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic is providing training for our members to update and upgrade our skills within a clinical environment. Come back to your roots is the slogan of our partner organisation, (BHSN); Kaddenethca's motto is "putting our efforts together to fight ignorance, diseases, poverty and illiteracy. You can contact us at kaddenethca@blackherbals.com.