Indigenous medical knowledge and management of covid-19-like symptoms in southern nigeria

The study explored ways indigenous medical knowledge aided in managing COVID-19-like symptoms among the Egene of Rivers State and the Yoruba in Oyo State, Southern Nigeria. The study anchored on the Development Communication Theory (DCT) and the Health Belief Model (HBM). Rapid ethnography was employed, involving observation, informal interviews and introspection. Data were collected from a purposive selection of traditional healers and family clusters. The result demonstrated that the Yoruba response to the menace of the pandemic was not so much for the treatment of the infected persons, but for the nutritional practices of the Yoruba, which ostensibly served as a preventive measure before and during the time the pandemic was holding sway in the country. Findings among the Egene cluster revealed an indigenous practice of diagnosis to determine the application of single or combined herbal remedies to manage COVID-19-like symptoms, such as cough, fever, sore throat, fatigue and other COVID-19-like symptoms. These findings highlighted the central role of indigenous medical knowledge in managing COVID-19-like symptoms like fever, cough, respiratory distress, and sore throat, amongst others, through the use of herbal remedies and practices. Results underscored the importance of medical pluralism by recognising and integrating traditional practices within broader public health communication strategies. It was recommended that given the attention accorded indigenous medicine in Southern Nigeria, particularly by the Yoruba of Oyo State and the Egene in Rivers State; public health messaging ought to have also reflected indigenous medical knowledge systems.