African Union (AU) have confirmed that they are in discussion with the Republic of Madagascar over the safety and efficacy of a herbal remedy, COVID Organics, recently announced by the country as a prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
The AU made this known in a statement issued in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia published on its website.
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The continental organisation said its Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention would review the potency of the herbal remedy as soon as Madagascar provides the necessary information.
The statement read in part;
The AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Amira ElFadil, convened a meeting with the Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Madagascar, Eric Randrianantoandro, on 30th April at which it was agreed that the member state would furnish the African Union with necessary details regarding the herbal remedy.
It added that;
Once furnished with the details, the Union, through the Africa CDC will review the scientific data gathered so far on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 Organics.
According to AU, the review will be based on “global technical and ethical norms to garner the necessary scientific evidence regarding the performance of the tonic.”
Madagascar’s President, Andry Rajoelina in a teleconference meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government on 29 April had made a presentation to his peers regarding the herbal remedy.
In his last address, President Rajoelina said Madagascar was building a factory to scale up production of the herbal tea.
He also stated that the ‘cure’ was to undergo clinical trials and that aside the drinks, injection options were being pursued, even as some African countries are expressing their interest in COVID Organics.
The AU also said it was working with member states in developing acceptable solutions and treatment for the coronavirus pandemic which has infected over 46,000 people on the African continent with more than 1,800 deaths.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) have reiterated its caution against people putting their faith in herbal remedies that have not been scientifically tested.
In a statement released on May 4th, WHO said despite supporting all efforts – including traditional medicines – in search for treatments, it was important that any purported treatments be thoroughly tested.
This comes days after some Africans took to Twitter to applaud the effort of the Madagascan government over the production of the medication.
Read Also: Madagascar’s ‘Cure For Coronavirus’ Lauded As Africans Clamour For Global Acceptability Of Drug
They also called on the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health bodies to consider the herbal tea as a possible cure for coronavirus and not just relying on Western solutions.
