THE DIFFICULT COHABITATION OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND BIOMEDICINE IN MADAGASCAR: WHAT ARE THE ETHICAL BENCHMARKS?

Abstract

In Madagascar, as in many countries around the world, traditional medicine has to coexist with biomedicine. Such cohabitation is not easy, given the very different ways in which these two medical practices operate. On the one hand, traditional practitioners offer an integrated approach to the suffering human being, including the material, psychological, environmental, and spiritual aspects of health. On the other hand, biomedical professionals focus on the strictly biological dimension of disease, insisting on the rationality of the causal explanations proposed and the implementation of treatments. However, given the needs of primary health care in Madagascar, it is essential that these two types of medicine coexist. Based on a concrete situation, we will explore the ins and outs of this cohabitation, highlighting its ambiguities.