The World Health Organization (WHO) said on September 19 it will grant support to traditional medicine practitioners in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

A committee of experts from the UN agency, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Social Affairs of the African Union have approved a "protocol for phase III clinical trials of herbal medicine for COVID-19” in that regard. These trials will be used to fully evaluate the safety and efficacy of products of traditional African medicine while studying patient tolerance to the drug.

The announcement comes as researches for herbal treatments have increased in recent months in Africa as part of government efforts to find local solutions to the pandemic. However, these solutions have often been controversial with many international experts questioning their effectiveness.

The best example is the Covid-Organics, a Malagasy treatment praised by President André Rajoelina as an effective solution against the virus, but contested by many experts.

“Just like in other areas of medicine, sound science is the only basis for safe and effective traditional medicine therapies,” said Dr. Prosper Tumusiime, head of the WHO Africa office. According to him, “If a traditional medicine product is found to be safe, efficacious and quality-assured, WHO will recommend it for a fast-tracked, large-scale local manufacturing."

As a reminder, to date, there are 1.4 million cases of covid-19 in Africa, 33,954 deaths, and 1.15 million recoveries.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou