The president of the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM), Dr. Anthony Mensah, has cautioned the public against consuming traditional or herbal medicines that do not meet the required standards of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
According to him, “some people with the intention of boosting their immune system against Covid19 have heedlessly taken to the preparation and consumption of numerous herbs which may rather lead to complications than boosting the immune system.”
Notwithstanding the deviations in the practice and usage of traditional medicine, Dr. Asamoah commended the efforts the rest of the world is making towards the improvement of traditional medicine stating that “it is a step in the right direction considering the significant recognition traditional medicine has gained in the wake of the Covid19 pandemic.”
In this regard, Dr. Asamoah added that the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association through the Ministry of Health has submitted some samples of traditional medicine to the Centre for Plant Medicine Research for a test on their potency to cure Covid19.
“The Ministry of Health beckoned us to bring traditional medicines capable of curing covid19 for testing; this we have done a couple of months ago and currently waiting for results from the Centre for Planned Medicine Research”, he said.
Dr. Asamoah further advised both practitioners and consumers of traditional medicine to pay heed to its required methods of preparation and usage in order to yield positive results as the case could possibly be.
“Traditional medicine is very good but can also be harmful if not prepared properly and we advise that anyone who wants to go into it must first make the necessary enquiries from the right authorities”, he concluded.
Meanwhile Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says the Ghana Health Service has initiated steps to receive samples of the herbal concoction from Madagascar believed to cure the novel coronavirus.
He said the samples will be tested to ascertain its efficacy before the next step is taken.
Despite the massive endorsement the drug has received on the continent, the World Health Oraginsation is warning countries to desist from “adopting a product that has not been taken through tests to see its efficacy”. The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention also said the drink should be “tested rigorously” before it is prescribed for use.
The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has also dissociated itself from reports of a donation from Madagascar regarding a coronavirus herbal cure, COVID-Organics.
In a May 6 press release, the ECOWAS Commission said it dissociates itself from claims that it had “ordered a package of COVID Organics (CVO) medicine from a third country. It is not known if other African countries will welcome the drug for use after the series of warnings issued by regulatory bodies.
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Source: LYDIA SEKYI-ACQUAH & ENOCH ACHEAMPONG/ATLFMNEWS
