CHILE

TRADITIONAL
MEDICINE
 Definition of Terms
O Traditional Medicine- This refers to the
knowledge, skills and practices based on
the different cultures, used in the
maintenance health and in the prevention,
diagnosis, improvement or treatment of
physical and mental illness.
O Chile-Is a long, narrow country stretching
along South America’s western edge, with
more than 6,000 km of Pacific Ocean
coastline.
 Background Information
In Chile,10% to 12% of the population is
indigenous. Seventy-one per cent of the
population uses complementary/
alternative medicine.
There are between 2,000 and 10,000
traditional health practitioners in Chile.
Principal traditional medical specialties are
herbalism, spiritualism, aroma therapy,
acupuncture, bone-setting and chiropractic.
 Chile integrates medicinal
herbs into its health system
O 103 vegetable species are included in a
publication by the Health Ministry to promote
the benefits of natural health.
O The guide to Traditional Herbal Medicines (MTH)
of Chile was drafted by professionals and
worked side-by-side with Association of Herb
Vendors.
O In this way, the Chilean health system
incorporates natural medicine to complement
traditional western treatments.
 Mapuche Medicine
O According to the tradition of the Mapuches,
an indigenous people from south of Chile, a
machi is capable of detecting cancer by just
looking at the urine sample of a person.
O It is essentially magical- religious in nature,
believing disease to be caused by
supernatural factors such as spells and
curable by treatments based on rituals,
thermal waters and herbs.
 Mapuche Medicine
O The ancestral wisdom, together with the
knowledge that the main Chilean group
possesses regarding plants and herbs with
curative properties.
O Chain of Mapuche pharmacies: Makelawen.
 Regulatory Committee
O National policies emphasize equal treatment for
traditional and allopathic medicine. Traditional and
complementary/ alternative medicine are regulated on
October 1993, which takes into consideration their role
in public health,
O The Unit of Indigenous Community Health develops the
primary healthcare system at the community level.
O The Health ministry issues licenses for the practice of
traditional medicine, but very few practitioners are
licensed. There is no official registry of traditional
medicine practitioners.