Books
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of any of our publications, please follow the relevant link and complete our publication order form.
Click title of publication to request a copy from TICAH, please specify whether you would like the book or pdf version. Cost of purchase and shipping will be advised.
we are taling about sex
tunazungumza kuhusu ngono
Author(s):TICAH
Language: English/Kiswahili
Abstract:
TICAH has designed counseling materials, educational materials, and a facilitator's guide to help people to set up sexuality support groups. In our discussions, we have talked about rights and services, and we have shared our experiences and advice around disclosure, abortion, and rape. We have shared the stories of losing our virginity, learning about sex, masturbation, what makes a good lover, good sex, bad sex, sexual violence, and circumcision. We have collected questions to doctors and experts and put together a panel to answer those questions. Our first book from these efforts, "we are taling about sex/tunazungumza kuhusu ngono", was published and launched on Valentine's Day 2010.
Traditional Medicine and HIV/AIDS: Treatment, Research and Resources
Author(s):TICAH
Language: English
Abstract:
"Traditional Medicine and HIV/AIDS: Treatment Research, and Resources" is the report on a gathering which TICAH convened in Nairobi, Kenya from May 27 to May 29, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to bring a diverse group of knowledgeable participants together to develop a strategy to promote treatment choice through the integration of traditional therapies, especially herbal medicine and nutrition, into AIDS treatment, care and research programs. To this end, participants focused on three themes to gain a better understanding of 1) the treatment needs and aspirations of clients; 2) the possibilities for broadening research on traditional therapies, and; 3) how to locate and mobilize resources more effectively.
Over three days, each theme was elucidated through presentations, question and answer sessions, discussions, and informal gatherings. The forty-three participants who attended the meeting from Africa, Europe, the United States, and Asia were drawn from among people living with HIV, non-governmental organizations, scientists, traditional healers, herbalists, medical doctors, and donors. The concept of "positive living" provided the framework for the meeting, and a definition of what constitutes "positive living" was tabled, revised, and approved as part of the meeting proceedings.
Each of the themes of treatment, research, and resources was explored with an eye toward building momentum for convincing donors, program designers, government ministries, and other stakeholders of the fact that our AIDS treatment strategies should more effectively include attention to traditional therapies and traditional providers. At this meeting and in this report we made progress in mapping a strategic plan for accomplishing this recognition. This publication includes a report on our discussions and a list of those who took part.
New Approaches to AIDS Treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa - Proposed clinical trial methodologies for traditional medicine
Author(s): Hadi Ali and Patrick Kearney
Language: English
Abstract:
For decades, proponents of a more inclusive and expansive approach to clinical trials and research on traditional medicines have complained that orthodox methods of pharmaceutical enquiry, namely double-blind placebo controlled four phase trials, is inappropriate for conducting research on compounds or medicines which have been in use in communities for years.
The seemingly complex nature of traditional medicine as it pertains to the standardization of preparation and treatment, patentability, and profitability, as well as its roots in indigenous culture all contribute to the lack of organized and effective methodologies for the clinical study of traditional medicine. In order to properly and responsibly study traditional medicine, a new set of research standards must be agreed upon that is at once acceptable to the Western scientific community and respectful of the origins of the therapy in question.
A product of consultations with a panel of 17 experts working in the fields of HIV, traditional medicine and Alternative and Complementary Therapies, this book presents a recommendation for new clinical trial methodologies for traditional medicine.
Ears to the Ground - An Exploration of African Culture and Health
Author(s): PATH/ TICAH
Language: English
Abstract:
In 2000, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) partnered with the Ford Foundation to establish what became known as CHAPS, the Culture and Health Grants Program for Africa. CHAPS, first in Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt, and later in South Africa, was driven by the belief that communities get their energy and identity from culture and local knowledge.
The goal of CHAPS was to improve health, well-being, and gender relations of communities by identifying, revising, and promoting cultural practices and beliefs through a small grants program. Individuals and community groups were supported to revive positive cultural practices and to examine and modify practices that have a negative impact on health.
The stories in this book describe a few of CHAPS community driven projects that encouraged community members to examine specific practices, sometimes centuries old, in the context of modern times. By asking their elders, peers and youth to take a closer look at specific cultural traditions, CHAPS grantee inspired communities to think about the way their culture affects their health beliefs and behaviors.
Using Our Traditions - A Herbal and Nutritional Guide for Kenyan Families
Author(s):TICAH
Language: English
Abstract:
It simply is not realistic to expect that all of us in Kenya can consult a physician each time we are ill, nor that we can always afford or even find the medications prescribed to us when we do. We must all open our minds and acknowledge that many ìhousehold remediesî can be extremely valuable in keeping our families healthy. More, not less, conscientious attention must be paid to these approaches if we are to learn all that we can, use what is best, and also protect ourselves from what is unsafe or ineffective. We should welcome all possible strategies that contribute to health, and learn how they can work in harmony. This book is the result of over two years of exploration in the uses of everyday herbs, plants, and foods to stay healthy and treat illnesses that has led us into the gardens, homes, clinics, organisations and stories of countless generous people.
"Using Our Traditions" covers 52 common health conditions faced by Kenyan families and offers suggestions on the use of safe and effective herbal remedies and nutritional advice and prevention strategies for each. It includes low-cost recipes for nutritious foods and contains an index of the 108 locally available plants referred to in the book. The index contains illustrations of each plant, the Latin and English names as well as names in Kiswahili, Giriama, Kamba, Kikuyu, Kipsigis, Luhya, Luo and Maasai. Its easy to use format contains symbols for each plant, symbols for who can take each medicine, and symbols for how to prepare each medicine so that semi-literate audiences can take advantage of this information.
Our Positive Bodies - Mapping Our Treatment, Sharing Our Choices
Author(s):TICAH
Language: English
Abstract:
This book is the second publication to come from our "Listening to Those Who Live It" body of work. We launched this work in June 2004 when we brought together HIV+ women in Kenya, Thailand and India to share their treatment experiences by creating visual expressions of themselves. These powerful portraits and the celebratory process we use to paint them are a vehicle to explore our options, our choices, what we can do and have done and how the attitudes and behavior of others affects our abilities to stay healthy. The thirteen women's paintings in this book are from members of Society for AIDS Orphans Network in Kenya, Karavali Positive Womenís Network in India, and Saitharn Rak PHA Club in Thailand. They proudly bear the first names of the painters and share a little about each woman and her story.
Closer to Home - Africa Asia InterAction on AIDS
Author(s):AHADI Communications (Publisher); Mary Ann Burris (Writer)
Language: English
Abstract:
For four days, from July 12 to July 15, 2004, an unprecedented gathering of AIDS activists, community-based organizations, service providers, performers, donors, friends, and others took place in the Global Village during the XV International HIV/AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
Beginning with a core group of Rockefeller Foundation grantees, partners, and colleagues from the Greater Mekong sub-region and from East Africa, and opening its doors to anyone who wanted to actively participate, the Africa-Asia InterAction on AIDS was born.
We shared, we sang, we cried, we worked, we danced, we argued, and we laughed together. We found strength in our commonalities and stimulation from our differences. All of us were moved and challenged by our time together where we celebrated our successes, shared our strategies, admitted to our failures and frustrations in a safe place, and together found new answers and energies for taking on the tasks we must take on if our communities are to thrive and survive this epidemic.
This report tries to capture the excitement, learning, thinking, and alliance building which took place on those special afternoons and evenings in Bangkok. It also serves as a record of our conversations and our strategies for meeting the challenges of poverty, stigma, gender inequality and lack of access to appropriate and comprehensive care in our different communities. We hope this publication and this enthusiastic network will clear the path for more exchange and interaction of this kind.
Unprecedented Conversations: Broadening Notions of AIDS Treatment and Care for Africa
Author(s): TICAH
Language: English
Abstract:
In most communities in Asia and Africa, traditional healers are the first and most trusted providers of health care, including AIDS care. They are also often the last resort. And yet, few global treatment protocols include traditional therapies or recognize their existing role in people's chosen treatment regimes. While the increased availability of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) to developing countries is cause for optimism, providing ARVs to HIV-positive people does not preclude the need to include other effective approaches to treatment and care.
Against this backdrop, an unprecedented conversation took place from 5-9 April 2005 at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Italy. This conversation - among program managers, researchers, scientists, and policy makers - aimed to broaden notions of HIV/AIDS treatment and care in Africa so that they are more inclusive of traditional medicines, and thereby more responsive to the needs of households in resource poor settings.
Hosted by the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, this meeting aimed to:
- Ground recommendations for treatment and care in the realities of patients' lives, and in the context of Africa
- Identify opportunities for providing optimal AIDS treatment in Africa at all stages of HIV progression, including via herbal and traditional medicines
- Incorporate the treatment aspirations and choices that positive Africans are making into treatment protocols and funding
- Outline the fundamental tenets of comprehensive AIDS treatment in a clear and compelling public statement
- Determine next steps towards an alliance for action to achieve the above goals
Author(s): Prometra, TICAH, Twaweza
Language: English
Abstract:
The vision for this groundbreaking gathering was forged in the fires of many conversations. It is a shared vision, built on years of healing work in Africa and the elders who have kept the knowledge of our ancestors alive by applying it to today's realities. Africa, in particular, has suffered because of the AIDS epidemic, so we wanted to find ways to honor, learn from, and push forward the contributions of traditional medicine in our efforts to find the best care for people affected by AIDS, care which is appropriate to our circumstances.
Nine Lives - Treatment Stories of Positive People
Author(s):TICAH
Language: English
Abstract:
Nine Lives is a testimony to this, and a taste of more to come. Together, a group of us asked friends and acquaintances to share their stories, to tell us the ways they have cared for themselves since learning they were positive. While we all know at heart that only those walking a path can truly know what is on that path, we sometimes do not take the time to stop and listen. To put together Nine Lives, that is what we did. We stopped and listened. This book contains a selection of nine stories from these interviews.