Background information

There is very little documentation on traditional medicine in the Solomon Islands. Traditional medicine practitioners regard the medicines they use as their personal property and conduct their practices under very strict confidence. Many of the natural materials used to make the traditional medicines can only be collected at specific times (269).

Regulatory situation

In 1979, the Government officially recognized and accepted the use of traditional medicine as a supplement to allopathic medicine in rural communities where the availability of allopathic drugs is limited. The policy states that traditional medical practice is not to be institutionalized but, rather, is to remain largely in the hands of individual practitioners.