Traditional Medicine in Community-Based HIV/AIDS Programmes: A Comprehensive Comparative Meta-Analysis in Morocco

Traditional medicine practices are often integrated into community-based HIV/AIDS programmes in developing countries to complement or replace Western medical approaches. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using relevant studies published between and the present. Data extraction included efficacy measures such as viral load reduction, patient survival rates, and adverse event incidence. Traditional medicine showed a statistically significant (p < 0.05) trend towards better viral load reductions compared to conventional treatments, with an estimated mean difference of -12% in favour of traditional methods. This meta-analysis highlights the potential therapeutic benefits of integrating traditional medicine into HIV/AIDS treatment programmes, warranting further clinical trials and policy consideration. Policy makers should consider incorporating traditional medicine as a supplementary option within government-funded HIV/AIDS care programmes to improve patient access and outcomes. Treatment effect was estimated with logit(pᵢ)=β₀+β^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.