Updated 15 October 2026

traditional medicine Uganda is part of the living cultural heritage that makes Uganda one of Africa’s most rewarding destinations for curious travellers. Traditional medicine is still part of everyday healthcare in Uganda. Many families, especially in rural areas, use herbal remedies alongside clinics and hospitals, often for fever, stomach problems, wounds and coughs. The remedies draw on Uganda’s rich flora, around 5,000 plant species, and on knowledge passed down among groups such as the Batwa, Bakiga and Baganda. Some of these plants, such as Prunus africana, Warburgia ugandensis and bitter leaf, have attracted serious scientific study. This guide introduces the best-known healing plants, how traditional medicine works in Uganda today, and how visitors can learn about it respectfully.

Uganda’s traditional medicines and healing plants: what the forest provides

Traditional medicine in Uganda today

For many Ugandans, the first treatment for a common illness is a remedy from home or from a local herbalist, with a clinic visit if it does not work. Herbalists are far more numerous than doctors in rural areas and are often cheaper and closer. In Kampala’s markets you will find stalls selling roots, barks and dried leaves, and bottled herbal mixtures are sold in towns across the country.

Herbalists are distinct from spiritual healers and diviners, though some people combine the roles. Our guide to traditional healers in Uganda explains the difference.

The government has tried to bring the sector under regulation. The Traditional and Complementary Medicines Act of 2019 set up a council to register practitioners and their products, and the Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute under the Ministry of Health tests herbal remedies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Drug Authority allowed a herbal product developed at Mbarara University to be sold as a supportive treatment, not a cure, which sparked a lively national debate about evidence and regulation.

Well-known medicinal plants

Prunus africana (African cherry). A tall montane tree whose bark is used across East and Central Africa for fever, chest pain and urinary problems. Extracts are used in Europe to treat benign enlargement of the prostate. Heavy commercial harvesting in several African countries has threatened wild trees, and international trade in the bark is now controlled under CITES.

Warburgia ugandensis (pepper-bark tree). One of East Africa’s most widely used medicinal trees, named after Uganda. Its hot, peppery bark and leaves are used for coughs, colds, malaria and toothache, and laboratory studies have found compounds with antimicrobial activity. Because people strip the bark, wild trees are often damaged, and some projects now grow it in farm nurseries.

Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina). Known as mululuza in Luganda, this shrub grows in gardens across Uganda, and its very bitter leaves are boiled for fever, malaria symptoms and stomach upsets. It is famous among scientists because wild chimpanzees in Tanzania were seen chewing its pith when sick, one of the first well-documented cases of self-medication in animals.

Erythrina abyssinica (ejjirikiti). A small tree with corky bark and bright red flowers, common in central Uganda. Its bark is used for malaria, skin conditions and other infections. It also has cultural importance in Buganda and is often found near homesteads.

Other remedies. Aloe is widely used on burns, wounds and skin complaints. The root of Mondia whitei, sold as mulondo in markets, is chewed as a tonic and aphrodisiac. In the Virunga volcanoes, the flowers of the Hagenia tree have traditionally been used against intestinal worms. See our guide to the Hagenia tree.

Forest knowledge around Bwindi

Bwindi holds around 1,000 flowering plant species, and the people around it have long used the forest for medicine. The Batwa, who lived in the forest until they were evicted in 1991, have particularly detailed knowledge of its plants. Much of it is now at risk, because younger Batwa grow up outside the forest. Bwindi also has multiple-use zones, where registered members of neighbouring communities may collect certain medicinal plants and weaving materials under agreements with the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

For the plants of Bwindi in more detail, read our guide to medicinal plants of Bwindi.

Conservation and fair benefit

Medicinal plants raise two concerns. The first is overharvesting: bark-stripping and root-digging can kill slow-growing trees, and popular species have become scarce near towns. Growing medicinal trees on farms, as some community groups and NGOs now do, takes pressure off the forest and gives families an income.

The second concern is fairness. When companies or researchers develop products from traditional knowledge, the communities that hold it often receive nothing. International rules on access and benefit-sharing aim to change that, but enforcement is weak.

Learning about healing plants as a visitor

The best introductions are guided walks led by local people. The Batwa-led Batwa cultural experience near Bwindi and Mgahinga shows how the forest provided food and medicine. Village walks in Buhoma often include a visit to a traditional healer, who explains common remedies, and both make good afternoon activities after a gorilla trek. Paying for these walks also supports the communities that hold the knowledge, as described in our guide to the impact of gorilla tourism on local communities.

Treat what you learn as culture, not medical advice. Do not take herbal remedies instead of the malaria tablets or treatment your doctor recommends, and do not bring plant material home. Many countries ban the import of plants, seeds and bark.

Frequently asked questions