From traditional healer to health champion

Traditional healers in Tanzania’s Simiyu region, like Jigulu Husseni, have long offered alternatives to modern healthcare. Recently, Husseni began promoting good sanitation and hygiene practices as effective disease prevention strategies—contributing to enhanced personal health, well-being, and community welfare.

Jigulu Husseni is a 54-year-old husband, father of seven, and traditional healer with 20 years of practice. Husseni lives in Kilulu village in Bariadi Simiyu, where he works. He treats at least five patients from Simiyu and other regions daily, including Mwanza and Arusha, occasionally travelling to visit patients, but primarily treating them at his home, which he shares with his wife and four children.

In the Simiyu region, traditional healing is considered a formal occupation, and practitioners are supported by an organisation of leaders at regional and ward levels who provide them with the license to practice. But beyond licensing, there are no set rules or criteria to assess a traditional healer’s qualifications.

In September 2024, Husseni was consulted by his nephew, who was then vomiting and complaining of diarrhoea. With rapidly escalating symptoms, Husseni realised he may not have the expertise to treat the young man and quickly rushed him to the hospital. The symptoms were caused by cholera.

“By the time we found out, my whole family—including my children—were infected as well,” said Husseni. “Therefore, all of us had to be admitted to the hospital for proper treatment.”

Superstition is partially to blame for the spread of cholera both within Husseni’s household and within the wider community. According to Husseni, some people blamed witchcraft, and others claimed that “cholera could not have happened before the mango harvesting season.”

Many members of the community, including traditional healers, predominantly lack awareness about the health impacts of open defaecation, a key factor behind cholera. Constructing toilets was not considered a priority; their importance for maintaining dignity and preventing the spread of disease largely uncommunicated. For some, it was simply an administrative necessity—in case a health officer came by to assess the community’s sanitation conditions. Unsurprisingly, several toilets were never used; open defaecation persisted.

And although Husseni constructed a toilet after being exposed to its use and receiving frequent inquiries from his patients about its location, his structure lacked a door for privacy and to keep the toilet and its surrounding areas free from flies.

Over time, there has been a visible change, acknowledged by both Husseni and the community at large.

Following several engagements with municipal health staff and a behaviour change meeting organised by SNV and our partners—as part of the Simiyu Climate Resilience Project and WASH systems strengthening initiatives, many residents have started building improved toilets—embedding safe hygiene practices within their everyday behavioural realities.  

Attended by other religious and community leaders, traditional healers and health officers, Husseni obtained critical information about ways to prevent cholera transmission and methods to share this information with his patients and the larger community.

Traditional leaders’ involvement in community awareness campaigns is one of the various behaviour change interventions implemented by the government to tackle sanitation-related issues. This approach is particularly important in regions like Simiyu, where leaders and healers like Husseni wield more influence than medical and sanitation experts. When traditional leaders partner with the government to raise community awareness, significant improvements are often seen.

For Husseni, his role in improving community welfare was straightforward. He recognises his responsibility to bring sanitation awareness to his patients. “I do not want people to die at my home simply because I want their money,” he said. “I am committed to providing the necessary information, and I believe we—as healers—should be included in behaviour change activities because we understand our people.”