The Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists has presented a number of homemade herbal remedies for COVID-19 to appropriate authorities for clinical testing.
According to the association’s President, Dr. Anthony Mensah, they are awaiting test results from these institutions.
“The government through the Ministry of Health has contracted practitioners to submit several remedies that we believe would have a very good effect in our fight against COVID-19.”
He said a number of submissions have been made through the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners.
“The Ministry [of Health] has also subsequently forwarded same [the sample remedies] to the Centre for Plant Medicine Research for further testing. What we are awaiting now is the outcome of the testing,” he added.
Dr. Mensah further expressed hope that these homegrown remedies will be up to standard to help in COVID-19 treatment.
“Once these are homegrown solutions that we are testing, what we believe is that it should be finalised and be finalised quick so that we know the outcome of same because we are very optimistic.”
Support from government
Indications from the government are that it will accept herbal medication that is up to standard.
The Deputy Health Minister, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, said he was open to the use of herbal medicine to treat persons infected with the virus provided they are vetted and proven to be effective.
“Most of the time, the issue has been the science of the herbal medicine,” Dr. Okoe Boye noted during his vetting for the portfolio he currently holds.
COA FS controversy
The Centre of Awareness Food Supplement (COA FS) gained some popularity because it was reported to be an effective treatment for the novel coronavirus.
The Executive President of COA FS, Professor Samuel Ato Duncan, had stated in an earlier interview that the supplement could cure the novel coronavirus.
But the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) came out to say it had neither independently tested nor verified COA FS as a treatment for the virus.
The product was later recalled from the market when some tested samples revealed E.Coli contamination.
Madagascar tonic
In Madagascar, a plant-based tonic was released by the state and described as a herbal coronavirus cure.
But Madagascar’s national medical academy cast doubt on the efficacy of the concoction because “scientific evidence had not been established”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also said there was no proof of a cure for COVID-19 after Madagascar’s president launched the herbal medication.
But Nigeria has had a positive response to the treatment.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to accept the consignment of a herbal tea touted as a cure for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from the government of Madagascar.
The Federal Government says the product will be examined thoroughly before it can be deployed.
