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Akintunde Akinyemi
University of Florida

 

     

African Health on Sale: Marketing Strategies in the Practice of Alternative Medicare in Nigeria

Most Nigerians, today, cannot have easy access to modern health care services because provision of Orthodox Medicare is generally expensive in their country. In the alternative, more Nigerians now patronize Alternative Medicare Practitioners (AMP) because their services are affordable and relatively inexpensive. The purpose of this paper therefore is to discuss various marketing strategies employ by practitioners of Alternative Medicare in Nigeria when promoting their services and products. The paper hopes to give an insight into the marketing techniques usually adopted by AMP in eliciting the interest of the Nigerian public. Prominent among the strategies to be discussed are electronic (radio & television) and print advertisement, merchandising, and the internet. The paper hopes to conclude that the ambition of Nigerian Alternative Medicare practitioner when marketing their services and product is to boost their personal ego, to attract patients, and to make money.


Africa Conference 2005: African Health and Illness
Convened by Dr. Toyin Falola for the Center for African and African American Studies
Coordinated by Matthew Heaton Webmaster, Technical Coordinator: Sam Saverance