Uztaz Nuru Jemal is a famous Traditional Healer and founder of Mina Traditional Medicine Center in Addis Ababa around Bethel. The 42-year-old studied Plant Science at Gondar University.
He inherited his father’s traditional healing knowledge and specialized in the sector by reading numerous Amharic and Arabic books on medicinal plants.
Jemal utilizes endemic plants to cure various diseases and is a strong advocate of medicinal plants because “they are organic.”
Over the years, he says he has discovered various remedies for different diseases -some of which are difficult to treat scientifically. He for example says that drinking a glass of Marrow (Cucurbita) juice for 15 days in the morning before food cures heart disease, Eret (Aloe Monticola) is a high medicinal value plant for healing wounds.
Also, he adds that daily drinking of Fenugrik (Abish or Trigonella foenum-graecum) helps to cure diabetes and allergies, daily drinking a glass of the mixture of crest (Feto or Lepidium Sativum) and Black Cumin (Tikur Azmud or Nigella Sativa) helps in treating cancer.
As part of the treatment process, Jemal closely communicates with his clients in-person at his center and also through regular phone calls to follow up on the medicine application process and patient recovery process.
“I provide treatment services together with my assistant healers. We attend to more than 30 clients daily. Most of my service users from all over the country testify that my treatment works,” he explains.
He explains that in Ethiopia, more than 80 percent of the population use traditional medicine for various illnesses, adding that for this reason, the government has given due priority to traditional healing – and this dates to the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I. A Sector with Complex Challenges
The traditional medicine sector is facing numerous challenges. According to Jemal, the challenges include poor coordination among sector practitioners, inaccessibility of medicinal plants, misuse of traditional medicine by some practitioners, as well as infiltration by quacks claiming to be traditional healers.
Mekuanint Brehanu – a traditional healer based in Kotebe area of Addis Ababa and a member of Addis Ababa Traditional Healers Association says that wrong people who claim to be traditional healers are tarnishing the sector’s image.
To compound the matters, healers like Jemal who operate from urban centers have to travel long distance to rural locations to pick herbs because the plants in urban areas are not suitable for herbal medicine due to the toxic fumes they are exposed to.
“I sometimes collect medicinal plants from as far as the desert areas such as Metema and Quara,” Jemal says.
Other traditional healers travel up to the Ethio-Sudan and Ethio-Kenya border in search of the proper medicinal plants.
The scarcity of medicinal plants is attributed to climate change, population growth, the growing demand for farmland and drought, among others.
Medicinal Plants on Deathbed
In Ethiopia, October and November are peak months for picking medicinal plants. To ensure uninterrupted supply, Jemal stores dozens of medicinal plants inside his storage room, which is fitted with preservative and cooling technology.
Although, Ethiopia is blessed with diverse medicinal plants due to its suitable climate, fertile soils, and water resources, some species are facing extinction. Such species include: Embus (Rhus glutinosa), Koshishilla (Acanthus sennii), Tikur Girar (Acacia negrii), Berbera (Millettia ferruginea), Chibo (Vernonia leopoldi), Yeshikoko Gomen (Solanecio gigas), among others.
How does the future look then?
Traditional healers – most who subscribe to Addis Ababa Traditional Healers Association are alive to the fact that Ethiopia’s endemic medicinal plants deserve protection as they are a means to cure both human and animal diseases.
One of the approaches has been working with Gulelle Botanical Garden (GBG) to plant and conserve important medicinal plants.
Also, the association in 2024 wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking to develop and own a park in Addis Ababa intended only to grow medicinal plants. They are still waiting for a response.
“We dream to modernize and advance the sector through developing education curriculum in universities to educate the future generations and enable them to appreciate the contributions of the sector,” explains Brehanu, adding that “as I inherited this healing skill from my grandfather and father, I am preparing my son to inherit my healing wisdom.”
The association is also working closely with Addis Ababa Health Bureau, Addis Ababa City Administration Food and Drug Authority, City Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau as well as other stakeholders to strengthen it efforts to deliver modernized health services.
GBG at the Centre of Medicinal Plants Conservation
Botanical Researcher Ergua Atinafie has worked at Gullele Botanical Garden (GBG) located on the outskirts of Addis Ababa for years.
She explains that GBG was established to conserve, protect, and undertake research on endemic, endangered, and economically important plant species by collecting samples from different parts of the country.
Before the GBG was established on 705 hectares of land in 2010, the area was predominantly covered with Eucalyptus trees, which were introduced to Ethiopia by Emperor Menelik II in the late 19th century.
She notes that as soon as the Eucalyptus trees were debarked, endemic and indigenous plants began to regenerate naturally. Although the garden appears to be mainly filled with juniper trees from above, it hosts a variety of endemic species within.
Currently, the GBG researchers are working to ensure that all the country’s endemic and threatened plant species are conserved.
According to the flora of Ethiopia, there are 6,500-7,000 identified plant species in the country. Over the years, GBG has strived to conserve different plant species in a single botanical garden.
Currently, GBG has become an internationally renowned botanic garden because of its significant contribution to environmental protection.
“Beyond undertaking massive endemic plant reforestation and conservation in the country, GBG has incalculable environmental, health, economic, social, and educational, among others values,” Atinafie asserts.
At GBG there is thematic gardening. This is where different plant species are conserved together based on their services, origins, and unique identification, among others.
For instance, GBG is home to numerous species grouped in themes such as; red list theme, endemic theme, medicinal theme and spices theme. Other themes are succulent theme, endangered theme, aromatics theme, fodder theme, wetland theme, and exotic theme, among others.
GBG comprises all plant species from Ethiopia’s five agro-ecological zones: Bereha (desert), Kola (lowland), Weinadega (midland), Dega (highland), and Wurch (frost). It utilizes a digital greenhouse for these species and emphasizes conservation strategies suited to each plant’s natural soil, environment, and climate. GBG implements ex-situ (offsite) conservation and effective domestication for nearly extinct species.
Additionally, GBG duplicates endemic species for distribution to communities, NGOs, embassies, schools, and universities to enhance conservation efforts.
Currently, more than 17 red-list plant species are being conserved with careful attention from botanical experts, with hopes for successful domestication soon.
These include Embs (Rhus glutinosa), Koshishilla (Acanthus sennii), Tikur Girar (Acacia negrii), Berbera (Millettia ferruginea), Chibo (Vernonia leopoldi), Yeshikoko Gomen (Solanecio gigas), among others.
Today, GBG experts have close relations with traditional healers and cooperate to conserve medicinal plants. “We support the traditional healers with scientific knowledge how to domesticate plants inside the park, and cultivating Ethiopian endemic medicinal plants inside the GBG is bearing fruits,” Atinafie explains.
She also notes that GBG is open to the conservation of more medicinal plants inside its open spaces if the traditional healers volunteer to bring them.
Despite the success, GBG still experiences impediments such as inadequate water supply, low awareness for plant conservation among the public, and underfunding, according to Atinafie.
Is Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Campaign Paying Off?
The Ethiopian government has attracted international salutation for its reforestation initiatives. Combined with public awareness creation, tree-planting campaigns like the annual Green Legacy Initiative have boosted the country’s forest coverage.
The Green Legacy Initiative launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has led to the planting of billions of tree seedlings throughout the country in the past four years.
Bisrat Hailemichael, the Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Forest Development a government organization responsible for leading the country’s forest resource says that they closely follow up on the country’s forest coverage and forest loss utilizing the latest technologies.
“The country’s deforestation rate is decreasing and the forest coverage is showing remarkable progress with the ongoing efforts of the Green Legacy Initiative,” he says.
Data from Ethiopian Forest Development indicate that forest cover loss was 91,735 hectares per year between 2000 and 2013; 38,194 hectares per year between 2014 and 2019, and 27,703 hectares per year between 2020 to 2023.
Forest area loss in Ethiopia during 2000-2023 has been significant. However, the government’s annual Green Legacy Initiative and strict policies to the conservation of forestlands enabled the country’s forest coverage improvements in the past years. As a result of these efforts, the rate of forest loss has been declining, indicating a potential turnaround in forest conservation efforts
Hailemichael attributes the alarming forest cover loss between 2000 and 2020 to climate change, growing demand for farmland, and bush burning.
The situation is now on a positive trajectory. “Government’s annual Green Legacy Initiative and strict policies on the conservation of forests has improved the country’s forest coverage,” he observes.
According to the Ethiopian Forest Development official report, the current forest coverage of the country is 23.6 percent or 25.7 million hectares.
Although, the country is undertaking enormous forestation campaigns, preserving the medicinal plants located in remote areas still requires careful consideration.
At the center of this task is the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI), a government body that plays a central role in the conservation of the country’s vast genetic resources.
The coordinator of EBI’s Medicinal Plant Sisay Wube in an interview with the The Ethiopian Herald noted “The institute remains bold in the conservation of endemic animal and indigenous plant species.”
“The fast growing world population is posing a serious challenge to the earth’s biodiversity,” Wube explains, adding that EBI prioritizes the conservation of endemic, endangered, and economically important plants from across the country. Seeds of these species are stored in gene banks.
Currently, EBI has collected more than 2,000 plant and crop species samples out of the 6,500-7,000 plant species that are believed to be found in the country.
Additionally, EBI has gathered over 200 medicinal plant species and plays a significant role in the Green Legacy Initiative by supplying millions of endemic and indigenous seedlings annually. It also collaborates with the Ethiopian Traditional Healers Association and individuals interested in medicinal and plant conservation.
According to Wube: “active community participation, improving community awareness, and ensuring that the community benefits from the resources are fundamentals to successful conservation of biodiversity.”
BY TEWODROS KASSA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2025
