The book is a compilation of 22 individual papers presented, discussions held and recommendations issued by the scholars in the field of medical anthropology.

Issues raised include among others: the roles of indigenous curers in national (official) health care systems; the type of health problems for which “traditional” (folkloric) treatments and remedies are used; the possibility of coordinating and combining the “western” and “traditional” systems of personal medical care in the development of a “comprehensive” approach to primary health care; and, the need for developing awareness and understanding of the “traditional” health care system by planners and practitioners of the “western” system.

Some of the papers describe the characteristics and views of various practitioners of traditional medicine, while others describe the results of efforts to train and utilize traditional practitioners in official (western-type) programs.