When Tom Dambudzo was bedridden due to ill health in his rural village, taking painkillers was the only option for him to relieve pain. “I couldn’t walk properly when I had severe backache for six months and my dependence on anaesthetic drugs was quite stressful,” Dambudzo told ChinAfrica. 

Dambudzo’s decision to relocate from his rural home on the outskirts of Bulawayo to Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, in search of quality health care turned out to be a roll of the dice that would eventually pay off in spades.  

“I visited a local traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. He pricked me with small needles, which were removed after 30 minutes. After 10 days of treatment, I feel better now!” he said. 

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Zimbabwean and Chinese governments on cooperation in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), thousands of Zimbabweans have turned to the ancient Chinese therapy to get their ailments treated. 

In 2020, the Zimbabwe-China Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Centre at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals was established in Harare and the facility, which houses the country’s largest TCM training school and research centre, has treated more than 150 people suffering from various ailments such as hypertension, lumbar pain, diabetes, and hernia. 

Local medical practitioners are enthusiastically studying the healing power of the ancient Chinese therapeutic technique, a medical system that has been used to diagnose, treat, and prevent illnesses in China for thousands of years, which is proving to be a beacon of hope for access to quality health care in a country grappling with obsolete medical facilities.  

Affordable alternative 

A group of 10 Zimbabwean medical professionals graduated as TCM practitioners in 2022 from a TCM training programme offered by Chinese doctors, the first of its kind in Zimbabwe. Their training comprised theory and practice including acupuncture and moxibustion, as well as diagnosis and treatment of diseases. 

After graduation, some of them started private practice to provide alternative medication at a lower cost, after witnessing the wonders of ancient Chinese medical treatment. 

Tatenda Chimbunde is among the 10 Zimbabwean licensed acupuncturists who got the skill to fulfil her passion for relieving others from pain. Chimbunde started a mobile clinic to provide acupuncture, a component of TCM. 

“I have seen in my practice that after I administer acupuncture, where one had to depend on taking a painkiller every 4-6 hours needs to take those drugs once in five to seven days, and with more acupuncture sessions, some of the patients can completely go off these painkillers, as acupuncture therapy would have helped in treating their ailments,” Chimbunde told ChinAfrica. 

The 26-year-old pharmacist who also works at a private clinic in Harare noted that TCM is more cost-effective than Western medicine, and it does not discredit the value of Western drugs as they work as adjuncts to enhance treatments. TCM also does not have side effects like Western medicine does,” she said. “In my own experience as a certified acupuncturist, where cost is concerned, I have observed that there are certain ailments like arthritis, back pain, and knee pain for which patients would spend a lot of money on buying different painkillers. The painkillers would relieve the pain just for a while, with no long-term cure. But with acupuncture, the recovery is quicker and the ailment is cured, which cuts the cost of medication.” 

Richard Mutingwende is another certified Zimbabwean acupuncturist who runs a private clinic located in the Stoneridge suburb of Harare, where he receives about 20 patients each day, and hopes to raise the number to 50.  

“Acupuncture works wonders, especially for conditions that cannot be treated using other systems of medicine,” Mutingwende said.  

Chris Chatunga, a teacher from Mashonaland, said he recently travelled to receive treatment at Mutingwende’s TCM clinic and the trip was worth it as he got cured. “Despite spending a lot on painkillers, my chronic headache continued. After hearing about TCM, I tried acupuncture therapy and it worked like magic,” Chatunga said. 

With TCM techniques including moxibustion, cupping, acupuncture, herbal products and mind-body practices, local patients with conditions such as arthritis, sciatica pain, back pain, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and even infertility and digestive disorders have received treatment.  

Among the wide range of Chinese ancient cures on offer, acupuncture has received maximum acceptance. In this traditional Chinese therapy, needles are inserted onto affected points on the body to relieve pain and cure illnesses.

Cooperation with China 

According to the World Health Organisation, TCM has a long history of contributing to conventional medicine and continues to hold promise, and in most developing countries, herbal medicines are the first line of treatment for more than 60 percent of children with high fever. 

Arguably, some advocates of TCM say the Chinese therapeutic practice saves more lives compared to modern medicine as it avoids many side effects associated with modern medicine. 

Zimbabwe and China recently committed to increasing cooperation on the use of TCM to give people more medical choices. 

Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora recently expressed appreciation for China’s technical support which has greatly enhanced Zimbabwe’s health care footprint, adding that there was more that Zimbabwe could learn from the Chinese in harnessing traditional medicines.

“We are also making strides in strengthening traditional medicine and we now have a council to regulate this sector,” Mombeshora revealed. 

Indeed, China’s ancient healing arts are gaining a strong following in the Southern African country as patients are increasingly flocking to local TCM clinics offering a variety of cures. 

Brighton Chiwenga, a truck driver from Harare’s Arlington suburb, was full of praise for the effectiveness of moxibustion – a Chinese medical therapy which brought an end to his unbridled fatigue whenever he took a long drive. 

“After I drive hundreds of km every week, I get stressed and fatigued. I tried modern medicine but it didn’t help much. But moxibustion therapy worked perfectly,” Chiwenga affirmed. 

Chimbunde, the TCM practitioner, said acupuncture has been a game changer for many. “In cases like stroke for example, some patients lose their mobility and cognitive abilities, but with the help of acupuncture and physiotherapy, I have seen lives change and people who had lost hope experience a renewed life.”

African Times has published this article in partnership with ChinAfrica Magazine.