Integrated Healthcare

Traditional medicine clinics in Suriname.
In the rainforests of southern Suriname, ACT has a longstanding program – carried out by tribal shamans and their apprentices in partnership with the principal primary care provider to the region – seeking the promotion of effective traditional medicine and its integration into the national healthcare model. To this end, ACT has constructed traditional clinics in four villages to be operated by the traditional healers. In 2003, this effort was selected among a handful of global initiatives for UNESCO/NUFFIC’s Best Practices Using Indigenous Knowledge. As a result of this work, the World Bank awarded a Development Marketplace grant to ACT’s integrated medicine project, the first such award made for a Suriname-based initiative.