Relationship Between Information Accessibility, Knowledge Acquisition Management And Transfer System Among Traditional Herbal Medical Practitioners
[CASE STUDY OF SOUTH WEST, NIGERIA]

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    Background to the Study
Various countries of the world have claimed that health care policies geared towards improvement of the health status of their populations is through traditional or herbal medical system. This is borne out of the fact that good health care is instrumental for the well-being of every citizen and subsequently the socio-economic development of their various societies.
Traditional herbal medicine according to World Health Organization (2002), is the sum total of all knowledge and practices, whether explicable or not, used in diagnosis, prevention and elimination of physical, mental, or social imbalance relying exclusively on practical experience and observation handed down from generation to generation whether verbally or written. Traditional medical practitioner on the other hand according to WHO (2013) means a person who is recognized by the community  as someone versatile and competent to provide health care by using animal, plant and mineral substances and other methods based on social, cultural and religious practice. However, there are strong indications that traditional health care systems are still in use by majority of the people not only in Africa but across the world (Cook, 2009). The traditional health care system has continued to thrive not only in the rural areas where over 70 per cent of the population live but also in the urban centers which have greater access to orthodox medical facilities. The stiff opposition to traditional medical practice from official quarters has not whittled down its level of patronage by the people simply because it was developed in response to the dictates of their environment. Examples of traditional medical practitioners are herbalists, diviners, faith healers, traditional surgeons etc. All these traditional medical practitioners need information to support their work.
Traditional medicine plays important roles in human society from past centuries to date. Traditional medical practice illustrates the medical knowledge practices, which improved for several centuries ago within a variety of societies before the era of modern Allopathic or Homopathic Medicine began (Alam 2011). He went further to say that among non-industrialized societies, the use of herbal medicine to heal disease is almost universal. People from countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, even North America are still using herbal products to fulfill their regular health related necessities. Adesina (2014) supported Alam (2011) notion by showing that nearly 75-80 percent of the population in Africa uses traditional medicine to heal diseases and some other forms of ailment like cancer, HIV/AIDs, infertility, sickle cell, anemia and so on. Owing to the fact that traditional medicine is relevant, accessible, affordable, culturally acceptable and easy to prepare with little or no side effects, most people prefer it to the exorbitantly priced health care services. Herbal remedies for problems like urinary tract infection, pubertal changes, post-menopausal syndrome, hot flushes, menopause, poly cystic ovarian syndrome, bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, infertility, delayed labor, low breast milk production, abortion and other female disorders. Women have handed down information from mother to daughter on how herbs can remedy some of the common maladies of life. Women, like the moon, change in cycles
Ramasubramania (2015).
Consequently, the knowledge on traditional health care system which is the panacea and first-front for all forms of health care system in the global gradually diminish as it became difficult to access, acquire and managed among herbal medical practitioners. Hence, low information accessibility, knowledge acquisition, knowledge management and transfer system among traditional herbal medical practitioners is the major constraints in the realm of herbal medical profession Okwor, Ihekwoaba and Ugwuanyi (2014).
Information seems to be crucial and never sufficient unless it adequately acquired and transferred. Information, according to (Carstensil 2010), is the data that is accurate and timely specific and organized for a purpose, presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty. Information is indispensable for effective management and development of traditional herbal medical practice and therefore considered as an important operational asset or resources. The world is currently in the age of advanced Information and Communication era. The world has become a global village; information therefore makes what goes on in any part of the world known and accessible to the rest of the world.  The relevance of information to the people in the community cannot be undermined because it keeps people aware of what is going on in a given society and thus help an individual to have firsthand knowledge about certain issues. In this 21st century, traditional medical practitioners cannot be adequately effective without information, because such information about herbal medical practice is step down from one generation to another generation. Therefore, information is crucial to ensure continuity of herbal medical practice.
Information is concerned with sending of message, ideas, knowledge from one person to another. However, information changes the world we live in and the way we learn to live, cure and protect people’s life Rai (2015) Accordingly, information accessibility changes the face of traditional herbal medical practice through its potential as a source of knowledge acquisition; information accessibility is a medium to transmit traditional herbal medical contents and management on transfer system. Thus, information is both a cause of change and a means of achieving change, especially in the realm of herbal medical practice.