A Manifesto for Ecological Healing: Valuing Traditional Knowledge in Mozambique

Mozambican traditional healing is a longstanding, community-embedded practice grounded in local knowledge systems and biodiversity. Despite its resilience, it has been persistently marginalized—from colonial impositions to enduring legal ambiguities—while Western medicine, rooted in Hippocratic, Galenic, and Cartesian paradigms, has become the normative model. This article explores the ethical, legal, and consequentialist dimensions of emancipating traditional healing, analyzing four policy options: prohibition, indifference, protection, and encouragement. Emancipation is presented not as subordination to biomedical standards but as a process of epistemic justice, affirming cultural sovereignty and community agency. Core values such as justice, equity, and respect for plural worldviews underpin the discussion. Traditional healers are often spiritually mandated and serve over 80% of the population, particularly in underserved areas, yet remain institutionally undervalued. Promoting respectful dialogue among stakeholders is crucial to avoid reductive adaptations and foster inclusive, sustainable health systems. Recognizing traditional healing as a legitimate and complementary system not only strengthens Mozambique’s National Health System (SNS) but also contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to health, inclusion, and cultural rights. This article argues that empowering traditional healing is both a moral imperative and a strategic investment in planetary health and human flourishing.