THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INDIGENOUS HERB SELLERS (EIHSS) IN MEETING THE HEALTH NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE OF OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The role of entrepreneurial Indigenous herb sellers (EIHSs) is called Lékuléja in Yoruba language) in meeting the health needs of the people of Osun State, Nigeria was investigated.

The sample population comprised 120 herb sellers, 240 members of the public (clients) and 7 top government health officials which were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics - chi square: the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and ZY index.

The result showed that the education level of indigenous herb sellers had no significant effect on the client’s patronage. The resources of the herb sellers were significant in determining the success of the trade and the level of clients’ patronage. The socio-economic status of the clients also had a significant effect on both the assessment and patronage of herb sellers.

Based on the findings, the study concluded that EIHSs have contributed significantly to the health needs of the people of the State as their clientele increased over the years, possibly due to the affordability and acceptability of their services by most of their clients.  The study therefore recommends that full integration of the EIHSs into the healthcare delivery system in order to complement the orthodox health services will reduce the socio-economic burden of health provision in the state.