Cameroonian Dr. Fru Richard:I don’t believe there is any disease that is incurable!

Last August 31 was celebrated as the 8^th African Traditional Day. At the centre of the occasion marking the day in Buea was the noted Dr. Fru Richard, Founder/Director, Garden of Eden International Healing & Research Foundation located in Wonya Mavio, in Buea,Cameroon

Dr. Fru’s Garden of Eden served as venue of the ceremony. It was massively attended by people of all walks of life and was characterized by free consultations and treatment of patients, a press conference, lectures on traditional medicine, traditional drug exhibition and cultural dances.Dr. Fru later spoke to The RECORDER Newspaper Editor ,Christopher Ambe Shu



Dr. Fru Richard



Dr. Fru, you just celebrated the 8^th African Traditional Day. What is your appreciation of the theme?

The global theme was “Development and Integration of Traditional Medicine into National Health Systems. But the one we used that day was “The Decade of African Traditional Medicine: How Far?”

This is because in 2001, African head of states designated the period 2001 to 2010 as the decade for African traditional medicine. That was a period set to achieve certain goals, to see that by 2010 traditional medicine is developed and integrated in all the systems of member states. But we realized that by 2010 very little has been achieved by very few countries such as South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Namibia. Cameroon is still far behind! It has not even gone any where!

In appreciating the global theme, I would say that, the World Health Organistion (WHO) is doing a lot to see that traditional medicine is developed and integrated into national health systems.

But in Cameroon’s health sector it appears policy makers have not yet seen the advantages traditional medicine has. That is why they are so lukewarm towards it.



That brings me to this question: How is traditional medicine faring in Cameroon?

 Some of us in the private sector are fighting very hard and are so happy that traditional medicine is gaining grounds in the country.



But we think there are some people- especially in the Ministry of Public Health who apparently put barriers on the way. I am referring here to the policy makers who are mostly conventional health practitioners or those so prone to the conventional system. I believe they are hindering the progress of traditional medicine in Cameroon. But those of us in the private sector are working hard and traditional medicine is gaining grounds in the country, despite the odds.

How would you rate the use of traditional medicine in Cameroon?



The use is growing geometrically. Many more people are going for traditional medicine. That is why some conventional health practitioners are so afraid so that they are coming up with strategies kill it. But let me seize this opportunity to strongly advise them to concentrate on what they are doing because they are fighting a lost battle by trying to kill it.

What advantage would you say traditional medicine has over conventional medicine?

Traditional medicine has a lot of adavantages.That is why the United Nations/World Health Organization is pressing on African heads of states (those that are its member) to see that traditional medicine is developed, promoted and integrated into  national health systems. In 2003, the theme of the first African Traditional Medicine Day was “Traditional Medicine: Our Heritage, Our Culture Our Way of Life, Our Pride and Our Future”.

And Dr. Samba, the Regional Director of WHO, sub-sahara region, said traditional medicine has a lot of advantages over conventional medicine especially in Africa, because it is culturally acceptable, it is socially sanctioned; it is available; it is accessible; the methods of preparation are very easy and it has little or no side effects.



In treatment, there must be faith; when faith does not come in to play then there is bound to a gap and treatment is not effective. That is why conventional medicine is also called the reductionist approach. This means conventional doctors are only there to reduce pains, but not to heal- because they have kept aside faith. They infringe on culture. You know there in religion in culture; so traditional medicine respects culture. The adjective-traditional means it respects tradition

In traditional medicine are there some diseases that are incurable?

I don’t believe there is any disease that is incurable. If I am not curing a diease, it does not mean traditional doctors elsewhere can not cure that disease. If I am not curing cancer, there may be somebody in say Yaounde or Fru-awa or India or Nigeria curing it.

Traditional Medicine has no limitations. This is why traditional medicine is referred to as holistic medicine; it is medicine that widens and extends beyond the narrow world view. It is super medicine; it has a lot of super natural properties in it.

What kind of support does traditional medicine in Cameroon expect to receive from the government now?

 For now we don’t need anything other than the development and integration of traditional medicine in to the national system. We believe that if that is done all other support will follow.

Should traditional doctors and medical doctors collaborate in the treatment of patients?

Traditional doctors are medical doctors. Medical is the adjective from the word medicine and anybody who uses medicine to treat patients is a medical health practitioner.

I would prefer you say traditional health practitioners and conventional health practitioners.

However, your question falls in line with what WHO is fighting for .WHO wants that traditional medicine and conventional medicine should be complementary. WHO wants that where one falls short in some situation, the other should complement. The two can and should work together to improve health care delivery.

Try-me is said to be a miraculous drug produced by you. Can you just tell our readers how miraculous this drug is?

Miraculous here means it does what is beyond human understanding. Following the scientific world view one drug can not treat so many diseases. Try-Me has broken that barrier and is doing what has kept scientists dumb-founded today. It heals any thing that comes on its way. That is what makes it miraculous. It heals diseases that are beyond the reach of conventional doctors. So many people programmed for operation -say for tumor in their breast, took it just for a short time and got healed; many who had severe liver cancer took it and got healed; many with kidney failure took it and got healed; many people with spiritual diseases have taken it and got healed, after they had been from one church to another, and from one country to another in search for a cure.

So you see the action of Try-me is miraculous because it is beyond human understanding. It is God who knows what we have used to produce the drug Try-me that is now selling nationally and internationally.

Could you cite some characteristics of a good Traditional doctor?

First of all, he must be morally upright. He must have a good sense of judgment, and conscience. And above, he must adhere to the ethics of the profession of traditional medicine. For, once you go beyond the ethics you become bad.

A good traditional health practitioner must have the health of his patient as his priority, and not put money first. He must ensure that his practice dose not jeopardize the physical well being of the patient, the spiritual or emotional well-being of his patient

So, would you say Dr. Fru is a good traditional health practitioner?

Well, I cannot beat my drum. Let society be the judge.

NB:First published in The Recorder Newspaper,Cameroon,of  16th September 2010