Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Use in Nyando Sub-County, Kisumu County, Kenya

Elijah Omondi Sangu

Abstract: World Health Organization estimates that more than 80% of the world population use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. It is reported that up to 80% of the population in Africa consult with traditional health practitioners. In Kenya, 90% of the population is reported to have used herbal medicine at least once for various health conditions. A study which was conducted in the neighboring Kisii County, Gucha Sub-County, reported that 97.6% of the respondents had used herbal medicine at least once in a lifetime. Kisumu County has over 100 registered herbalists practicing in different Sub-Counties. Although the study could not access any official documentation on herbal medicine use in Nyando Sub-County, personal communication with health practitioners in the Sub-County showed that herbal medicine is widely used amongst patients seeking care in health facilities; though the true magnitude is not known. Most previous studies on use of herbal medicine especially in the Nyanza Region, where Nyando Sub-County is located, have focused on herbal practitioners but missed the consumers of herbal services. Most of the studies were conducted in hospital settings and herbal clinics but not in household set ups that can reveal the true prevalence of use of herbal medicine by household members. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of use of herbal medicine in Nyando Sub-County, Kisumu County. This was a cross-sectional household study in which information on herbal medicine was sought from the household heads on prevalence of herbal medicine use. A two-stage cluster sampling was used to select 148 households from a target population of 30,439 households. Tool for data collection was a structured questionnaire which was pretested. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, proportions and percentages. The study found out that 143(97%) of the household heads had used herbal medicine at least once in a lifetime; 104 (70%) of the households had at least a member in the household who had used herbal medicine within the last 12 months; about one quarter of household heads, 39 (26%), reported that at least one of their household members was using herbal medicine at the time of the interview. The study concludes that the prevalence of herbal medicine use is high with a lifetime period prevalence of 97% and a twelve months period prevalence of 70%. The study recommends further household surveys that involve all household members delineated by age groups, sex and population sub groups. The high prevalence of herbal medicine use noted in this study sets a baseline data for further qualitative studies that will guide medical interventions.

Keywords: Herbal Medicine, Herbalist, Household, Prevalence

How to Cite?: Elijah Omondi Sangu, "Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Use in Nyando Sub-County, Kisumu County, Kenya", Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 302-307, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR24410200432, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR24410200432

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