Can working with traditional healers be a key aspect of blindness prevention in Malawi?

Objective: The purpose of this literature review is to highlight information on the use of traditional eye medicine (TEM) within Malawi. Methods: The papers included in the review were sourced from PubMed, African journals online (AJOL) and African Index Medicus (AIM). The search terms 'Traditional healers in Malawi' 'Traditional Eye care in Malawi' and 'Traditional medicine in Malawi' were used and studies were selected from 1990 through to August 2023. Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen blindness prevention in Malawi. Due to the already well-established use of traditional healers in the rural regions, it has been suggested that collaborating with them rather than working independently of them will be a better approach to tackling vision impairment. There are multifactorial apprehensions on the part of biomedical practitioners to work with traditional healers which range from a genuine concern that healers practice in a way that may be harmful to patients, to a lack of knowledge of the actual practices of traditional healers. More research needs to be done on how to bridge the gap between the two groups to tackle vision impairment in Malawi.