Samoan Herbal Medicine: 'O La'au ma Vai Fofo o Samoa

Two systems of health care exist side by side in Samoa—Sāmoan medicine and Western medicine. Western medicine is centered in three hospitals—Moto‘otua Hospital near Apia, Tuasivi Hospital on Savai‘i, and the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center in American Samoa. There are also a series of rural clinics, especially on Savai‘i, that are staffed by district nurses. The doctors (foma‘i) at the Western Sāmoan hospitals have either a Diploma of Medicine from the Fiji School of Medicine or a...