In the 1990s, the government of Chile noticed that people of the indigenous population were hesitant to make use of the Western hospitals. They decided to financially support some indigenous health care providers and programs in areas of the country with indigenous populations. It turns out this was the start of the growth of a public health care that mixes Western and indigenous health care systems in a successful way. Nowadays, also the non-indigenous people are finding their way to Mapuche medicine, the system of medical treatment historically used by the Mapuche people of southern Chile. Their treatments are mainly based on rituals, thermal waters and herbs. In the West, governments are often reluctant to support non-Western health care providers, so it’s inspiring to read about the Chilean approach in this New York Times article.
Chile successfully combines Western medicine and indigenous Mapuche medicine
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