Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence and patterns of the traditional treatment practices (TTPs) in South Darfur state, Sudan, and correlate them with the sociodemographic factors of participants.
Methodology: This prospective descriptive cross-sectional hospital study was conducted from December 2020 and April 2021 and included 135 malnourished children with their mothers who presented for treatment of malnutrition at Nyala Teaching Hospital, South Darfur State, Sudan. A detailed examination was performed to look for signs of TTPs, then some photographs were taken using a digital camera. The sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents’ mothers were taken using a questionnaire.
Results: We found that 49.6% mothers were from rural areas, 80% were aged between 20 to 39 years and 63.7% were illiterate. Of the respondents’ mothers, 48.9% were using pure TTPs. It was high in an area where health centers are available. The commonest patterns of TTPs were Tefessed (43.0%), followed by Abu Rafaf (30.4%) and Abu Kass(16.3%), while removal of the uvula and Reeh were in 6.6% and 3.7%, respectively. The negative impacts following the use of TTPs were infections, burns, damage to the palate, bleeding, and death.
Conclusion: The high prevalence of TTPs indicates that it is embedded in the cultural beliefs of the South Darfur State, despite its various negative impacts. There are unique traditional practices in the South Darfur State community used for the treatment of malnutrition in children under five years of age, such as Tefessid, Abu Kass and Abu-Rafaf.

Key words: Traditional treatment practices, Malnutrition, South Darfur, Sudan.