The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye says Ghana will soon receive some samples of Madagascar’s COVID-19 tonic.
He said they will take the samples and collaborate with the Food and Drugs Authority to assess the herbal drug which is said to be a cure for COVID-19 before a decision to use or not will be taken.
Dr Aboagye made this known at a press briefing today May 7, 2020.
“With the Madagascar issue, I believe a quantity will be made available to Ghana and in collaboration with the Food and Drugs Authority we will have to do some assessment and take it from there so I can’t say it will be used or not, they have made an offer that we can take a look at”.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority (FDA) Mimi Delese Darko says Ghana will need more scientific evidence before it can accept Madagascar’s COVID-19 cure.“I know it contains the Artemisia plant which is the same thing that we have in some of the antimalarials… Yes, we’ve read about it but what we also look out for is evidence so you cannot just put a drug or a herbal product on the market without evidence and say it treats a disease. So far as we’ve seen, it was tested in about 20 people over 3 weeks and come out with the claim of cure. There is no published study and what we would say is that we will need more evidence,” she said.
It will be recalled that Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina announced a herbal medicine which they claimed has cured people of COVID-19.
Even though it is not scientifically proven and the World Health Organization has warned of its effects, many African countries have asked Madagascar to supply them with plant-based tonic, COVID-Organics.
Some Ghanaians have suggested that the country follows the steps of Congo, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau by ordering the drug to help treat patients here.
