Zambia’s Natural Health Revolution

When Kim Otteby made the decision to incorporate Umoyo Natural Health in Zambia in 2007, it was a move that was driven by her dedication to educating people about the tremendous benefits of holistic health and natural healing. “I started this place because I was passionate about it, not because I wanted to make money. And it turns out, it’s grown into a viable business,” Umoyo’s Managing Director explains. The Swedish national’s family relocated to Zambia when Otteby was just three years old, and the country’s warmth, hospitality, and beauty captured her heart. Throughout stints in Uganda and Europe, where Otteby earned degrees at Oxford, she dreamed of coming back to Zambia and reconnecting with the country and its people. Six years after beginning her practice from her Lusaka apartment, Kim Otteby has managed to spearhead a natural health revolution from her Great East Road center, where ninety percent of the clientele is proudly Zambian.

This revolution couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for Zambia. With the country’s 2013 induction into the group of lower middle-income countries, conditions like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease are increasing exponentially within the population. Otteby explains, “There’s a real lack of knowledge. And that’s where we come in, because a lot of doctors don’t have the time to explain where diet and lifestyle conditions come from.” She’s quick to emphasize that the organization, registered with the Medical Professions Association of Zambia, works alongside the medical establishment. “We are not against the use of pharmaceutical drugs, but believe that if you decide to go on medication, you still have to address the underlying diet and lifestyle issues.”

With a full spectrum of treatment options, and some of the most technologically sophisticated equipment in the world, Umoyo Natural Health offers Zambians access to therapies that on par with what clients could get in Europe. From live blood analysis to colon hydrotherapy, Umoyo Natural Health has brought a new voice to Zambian’s medical community. “We’ve recently become registered with African Life Assurance which means that their members can now come and use our services as part of their medical plan.” Buoyed by the testimonials of clients like Maureen Paupila, who after eight years of trying to get pregnant, conceived a week after finishing a seven-day intensive cleanse, Zambia is finally beginning to take notice of the message Otteby has been striving to get out.