Traditional healers occupy a unique and critical location in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda, and anthropologists are specially positioned to highlight the benefits of involving them in this fight. Here we describe the results that healer organizations are having on efforts to train and organize healers of all kinds in Uganda, in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases. In Uganda, we can see that traditional healers are increasingly organized into networks or member organizations, forming groups with a stronger, louder, and more coherent voice than ever previously seen among healers. These groups provide coherent prevention and treatment strategies in their approach to HIV/AIDS. This is important in light of the recent debate among HIV/AIDS professionals, including Paul Farmer, Barbara Pillsbury, Edward Green and others, about the relative importance of prevention versus treatment. Healer organizations in Uganda also articulate policies about how to synchronize their efforts with those of their allopathic colleagues.

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