Traditional healers from the North West Dingaka Association gathered at Mmabatho Stadium in Mahikeng on 30 August 2025 to mark International African Traditional Medicine Day, using the event to demand nationwide recognition of sick notes issued by traditional healers. The association’s president, Anna Rabotapi, told SABC News that while some progress had been made in the province, recognition remained uneven across South Africa.
“There are challenges around sick notes among some traditional healers, and we’d be happy if all traditional healers in South Africa’s sick notes are recognised,” Rabotapi said. She added that the gathering was about restoring dignity in the profession: “We are trying to make sure our pride as traditional healers is not lost but restored through every celebration.”
The Mahikeng event forms part of a broader national push by traditional healers for formal recognition and autonomy, as reported by SABC Channel Africa on 21 March 2025. The demand for sick-note recognition carries practical weight for millions of South Africans who consult traditional healers, particularly in rural areas where access to formal clinics is limited. Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, employers require medical certificates for sick leave, but certificates from traditional healers are not uniformly accepted.
Academic research has long documented the role of indigenous healers in North West province’s rural health system. A 1996 study indexed on PubMed examined the clinical activities of traditional healers in the province, underscoring that their contribution to primary healthcare predates current policy debates by decades.
Other provinces have taken steps toward formalisation. The Gauteng health department announced in August 2022 that it was establishing traditional health practitioner committees across all 23 sub-districts. Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi said at the time: “The re-establishment of the THP committees is part of steps we are taking as government to formalise indigenous and traditional medicine.”
Gauteng health department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the committees acknowledged “the contributions and the significant role played by THPs in the health and lives of many South Africans.” In Limpopo, traditional healer Mpho Makhado developed the RevMed mobile app, launched in August 2020, to connect patients with traditional practitioners. “We created it to bridge the gap between Western Health Practice and Traditional Health practice,” Makhado told SABC News.
The original SABC report referenced in the topic headline suggested plans for a traditional medicine hospital in North West, but accessible corroborating sources confirm only the wider push for recognition and collaboration. No independent source verified a specific hospital proposal, funding allocation, or government approval for such a facility.
What remains unclear is whether the North West Dingaka Association has formally submitted a hospital proposal to the provincial or national health department, and whether any government response is pending. Cape Flats News will check with the North West Department of Health for comment by 5 September 2025.