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As COVID-19 spread across Africa and leaders put their countries in
lockdown, Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina last month launched an
herbal remedy that he claimed could prevent and cure the disease.To get
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The announcement caught medical experts, who have scrambled to find a
cure for the disease that has killed more than 252,000 and infected at
least 3.6 million people globally, by surprise.Rajoelina, a former DJ
who in 2009 at the age of 34 became the continent's youngest national
leader, claimed at the launch that the remedy, named Covid-Organics, had
already cured two people.
"This herbal tea gives results in seven days," Rajoelina, 45, told
journalists and diplomats in April.Soldiers have since been going
door-to-door in the Indian Ocean island country, which has reported 149
cases and no fatalities, dispensing the concoction.
What is in Covid-Organics?
The herbal remedy is produced from artemisia, a plant with proven
efficacy against malaria, and other indigenous herbs, according to the
Malagasy Institute of Applied Research, which developed the beverage.
The plant was first imported into the island nation in the 1970s
from China to treat malaria.It is now marketed in bottles as a herbal
tea, while Rajoelina has said clinical trials are under way in
Madagascar to produce a form that can be injected into the body.
Is it safe or effective?
Following Rajoelina's claims, the World Health Organization (WHO)
advised people against using untested remedies for COVID-19."Africans
deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the
rest of the world," WHO, the United Nations health agency, said in a
statement on Monday.
"Even if therapies are derived from traditional practice and
natural, establishing their efficacy and safety through rigorous
clinical trials is critical," the statement added.The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also warned people against using
unproven remedies.
"There is no scientific evidence that any of these alternative
remedies can prevent or cure the illness caused by COVID-19. In fact,
some of them may not be safe to consume," the CDC said.
Meanwhile, the African Union said it was in discussion with
Madagascar with a view to obtain technical data regarding the safety and
efficiency of the herbal remedy.In an attempt to reassure people and
brush aside safety concerns, Rajoelina took a dose of Covid-Organics at
the launch event and said it was safe to be given to children.
Has it been exported?
Several African countries, including Tanzania, Liberia, Equatorial
Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, have either placed orders or have received
consignments of the remedy.
On Sunday, Tanzanian President John Magufuli said he was dispatching
a plane to Madagascar to collect a shipment of the tonic."I'm
communicating with Madagascar," Magufuli said during a speech, adding:
"They have got a medicine. We will send a flight there and the medicine
will be brought in the country so that Tanzanians too can benefit."
Meanwhile in Guinea-Bissau, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo went to
the airport on Saturday to receive a shipment of the beverage donated by
the Madagascan leader.COVID-19 has spread to all but one country in
Africa, Lesotho. As of Tuesday, at least 1,862 people across the
continent have died from the virus.
The Wall