Ghana considers importing Madagascar’s COVID-19 herbal ‘cure’

The government of Ghana has announced its intentions to obtain some quantities of COVID-19 Organics, a herbal drug produced by Madagascar with claims that it has the potency to cure coronavirus.

The government is considering this option as one of the measures to treat infected persons, as the country’s cases hit 3, 091 with 303 recoveries and 18 deaths.

The medication will, however, be subjected to vigorous tests by relevant authorities such as the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) with no definite conclusion to administer it to patients or otherwise, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said at a press encounter on Thursday, May 7.

“A quantity might be made available to the country…In collaboration with the FDA, we have to do some assessment, and then we take it from there,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye stated in response to a question.

“So I will not be able to say whether it would be used or not,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye stated emphatically.

He added the Madagascar concoction was “an offer that we can take a look at.”

The herbal mixture has created controversy with the World Health Organisation (WHO) clarifying that even though traditional medicine offers significant remedies for various ailments, the COVID-19 Organics has not been approved for consumption.

The organisation said further tests need to be conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of the medication.

COVID-19 Organics is produced from the artemisia plant, which contains one of the active ingredients in some malaria drugs.

The use of COVID-19 Organics is widespread with the BBC reporting on May 4 that President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, had made requests for large quantities to be exported to his country to be used as a cure for COVID-19.

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The BBC further cited information attributed to the Malagasy president’s Chief of Staff, Lova Hasinirina Ranoromaro, indicating that the product was being marketed even though tests were carried on less than 20 people over a period of three weeks.

Other African countries, including Guinea-Bissau, have also received consignments with Madagascar President, Andry Rajoelina, indicating in a tweet that they were available to help friendly nations to defeat the contagion.

Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) has also requested samples from Madagascar for testing by Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), to obtain scientific information and evidence of any curative effects of the traditional drug.