Ibrahimo Soba, a traditional healer, sees patients in his one-room practice on the outskirts of Maputo, Mozambique's capital. As incense wafts and Brazilian telenovelas blare from a television set, he dispenses herbal remedies for an array of afflictions including tuberculosis, impotence and increasingly HIV/Aids.

For patients recently infected with HIV, Mr Soba prescribes a thrice-daily regimen of palm oil, rock salt and an indigenous herb called tondulo dissolved in water. He also slices their arms with a razor and administers a “vaccine”.