10 Reasons to go to Loliondo (Sababu 10 zinazosababisha mtu kwenda Loliondo)
1. No doctors consultation – Hakuna haja ya kuonana na daktari
2. No medical tests or x-rays – hutolewi vipimo
3. No hospital admittance – hulazwi
4. No injections – huchomwi sindano
5. No drips – hutundikiwi dripu
6. No questions asked about your sickness – huulizwi ugonjwa
7. No pills – hupewi vidonge
8. No follow up appointments – huambiwi tarehe ya kurudi
9. No operations – hufanyiwi operation
10. Supposedly instant cure – utapona mara moja
3 Reasons to not go to Loliondo – Sababu 3 za kutokwenda Loliondo
1. Long waiting line – Kusubiri kwenye foleni
2. Transportation costs – Gharama za usafiri
3. No basic services such as hygiene, food & shelter – hamna huduma za jamii kama chakula, malazi na huduma za afya
You decide, kazi kwako!
The allure of Loliondo is strong, especially for patients for whom the health system in Tanzania is unable for whatever reason to treat. Without proper clinical testing it is difficult to advise patients as to whether or not to travel the distance in search of a cure. After all, people have travelled much farther and much wider in search. To this day I have seen no tests confirming or denying the authenticity of this miracle “cure” in Loliondo, which in and of itself is telling. What is taking so long? AIDS has a very specific diagnosis, so is hypertension, and if this cure is able to cure both why haven’t we been able to identify and clinically demonstrate at least one person for whom the cure has rid them of either pathology. They say the cure relies on the faith of the patient and must be delivered only by the hands of this Pastor. Perhaps science’s intervention will rid the cure of its power and we should let what is going on in Loliondo continue unguided? Perhaps. But we know better. We know about drug toxicities. We know about drug-drug interactions. We know about drug allergies. The field of medicine knows quite a bit, and putting anything foreign in your body should be cautioned for a number of factors.
The healer in Loliondo, as far as I’m aware, relies on natural products, which should by no means discount his product. After all, what drugs made in the West are not natural products or at least based on natural products? But, it is important to look at Loliondo not simply from the standpoint of “to go or not to go” but also understand what it means for the health system in Tanzania. It is not just the poor who are traveling to Loliondo — you see MPs, officers and all other more able citizens heading there to attain this miracle cure. The question is, have we given up on the healthcare system in Tanzania? Our citizens, it appears, are not receiving the treatments they need, or at the very least are finding such treatments inadequate and this is a very unfortunate reality.
It is a dangerous road we are traveling. Faith healers are nothing new in Tanzania, and whether or not Loliondo bears the cure for all, its popularity will not subside anytime soon. This will fuel the fire for more and more such ‘healers’, many of whom will be nothing more than “daylight robbers” capitalizing on the latest fad. However, money or time are not the only commodities of interest here. It is the health of the people that is in jeopardy. While these “cures” may not be dangerous, what is dangerous is letting an illness go untreated. So please, if you do decide that Loliondo is a path that you would like to take then by all means do so (as long as future testing does not reveal any toxicities). But please keep in mind the following points:
– These are not mystery disorders. HIV testing is not difficult. Neither is diabetes, nor hypertension or all of the other purported illnesses for which this medication targets. It is only with proper testing that will you know if you are free of disease or not. DO NOT, I repeat, do not, assume that you are free to act in a manner contrary to what your illness would necessitate until a healthcare professional is able to tell you so. If there still remains any faith in the health system in Tanzania, at least allow it that right.
– There are a whole slew of interactions that go unnoticed in your body. For the same reasons you are told not to take alcohol with ibuprofen, Loliondo’s cure may have interactions in your body with other substances you are ingesting that you may by unaware of so use the utmost caution, do some research and figure out what the latest information is out there on the Loliondo cure.
– Note that you may be allergic to the remedy; our bodies are designed to reject foreign entities, and this remedy, regardless of its efficacy, is foreign to most of us.
– Do some research on hospitals or clinics in the region. It is always advisable to know where you can go if or when issues arise. Regardless of whether or not you may have lost some of your faith in the health system do not turn your back on it.
There are many more reasons to be cautious. No one is against a cheap, cure-all but even proven drugs that are sold on the market show toxicities that the scientists or government agencies were initially unaware of. As always, think before you act, be safe and take care of yourselves!
@Neechi – totally agree with you. This was just meant to be a funny list that someone told me, by no means are we advocating going there.
@neechi – your comment was actually quite informational – you should probably write up a follow up post to taha’s prompt here. seems like there’s a lot to discuss.
i was also wondering about pharmaceuticals in general; do you see issues of intellectual property devaluation for generic drugs in TZ? ie: are locally-produced drugs recommended less than the big international brands? if so, uh… shouldn’t we fix that?
The supposedly John Mashaka in Michuzi blog, summed it up really nice, I hope you guys won’t mind taking a peek on his piece at Michuzi blog.
http://issamichuzi.blogspot.com/2011/03/loliondo-progress-or-confused-desparate.html
Among the 10 reasons you provided, you probably forgot the most important one to all. It is the most reason which affect people going to normal hospital. You do not need to bribe Babu to get his medicine. Hutakiwi kumpa Babu rushwa ili akupe kikombe.
@insideout: ukona examples of bribery in Tanzanian public health?
Plus that Issa Michuzi article is said to have been written by a ficticious character. Who do we believe?
@Geoffrey, you can believe whatever you like in this world, bonkers or the most outrageous belief it may be, but make sure you don’t break the law!
@dd-m if this guy is good at what he does why doesn’t he train others to do the same in other regions?
@Geoffrey, I am surprised people take “kikombe” with no qualms! It’s like “mwarobaini”, we know it can cure, but how much dose should you be prescribed is not known, now that’s up to the government chemist to come with a more scientific solution.
Take “kikombe” with high concentration of medicine it will definitely affect you, with low concentration you won’t be cured. That plant is used cure diseases in India, Google it for more info.
But overall this event has definitely highlighted our desperation and in our health system.
It ‘s true that pple ar cured by that medicine?