WHO WELCOMES TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

MBABANE - The fate of Eswatini traditional doctors has been changed!
Amid the emergence of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in the country and globally, the World Health Organisation in Eswatini has opened its arms to traditional medical practitioners and healers, to clinically test their concoctions for different diseases and infections, including the novel coronavirus.

The decision to allow traditional healers to submit their concoctions and traditional medicines to scientifically do trials in WHO laboratories, was revealed yesterday by the organisation’s Health Promotion Officer Dr Kevin Makadzange.

In an interview, Makadzange said the decision by WHO came after Madagascar’s Covid-Organics (CVO), an organic herbal drink, became popular. It is believed that CVO can treat symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

“Actually, other countries have already opened their arms to traditional medicine, making trial runs on concoctions and medicine, including Zimbabwe. This will be only a new course in Eswatini,” said Makadzange.

Testing

Traditional healers can, anytime from now, submit their concoctions for scientific testing. Dr Makadzange said those interested could submit their traditional medicine at the WHO Country Office in Mbabane, near Queensgate, or at the University of Eswatini at the Luyengo Campus Medicinal Plants Department.

“I would actually advice traditional healers to contact the country office to get the nitty gritty details of what would be required of them before they come through,” he said.

Makadzange said there would be a lot of guidelines that would be demanded from the traditional medical practitioners before they could submit their concoctions. He also said the traditional doctors would have to be affiliated with an association to make their job easier, because working with groups was more efficient than working with individuals.

Invited

In fact, WHO health promotions officer said he would be very happy to deal with groups (associations). He even invited them to his office at the WHO Country Office as soon as today. “As WHO, we will have a lot of regulations and demands which have to be adhered to regarding this,” he said.

He also said they would be working with government and they would compile their own regulations. According to Makadzange, the traditional healers should be aware that trials took a very long time.

He said trials were first done in the pre-clinical stage, where it was carried out in a laboratory with rats. After this stage, he said clinical trials started where they were exercised among a small number of people who were healthy and those who were diagnosed with a disease which ‘needed’ that concoction on trial.

The last stage would be mass testing, among a large group of people who were ill and healthy.
“This is a very long process. The shortest time it takes is 18 months,” said the doctor.
He said this process did not only apply to traditional medicine.

Pharmacies

“The reason why there are Chinese pharmacies is because their medicine has gone through the same process. In fact, all medicine on shelves has gone through the same process and now, traditional medicine has been given the opportunity to be tested and be on the shelves like the rest,” he said.

According to the World Health Organisation African Region, 70 traditional medicine experts from countries across Africa held a virtual meeting with WHO on the role of traditional medicine in the COVID-19 response.
 They unanimously agreed that clinical trials must be conducted for all medicines in the region, without exception.

The meeting announcement came only one day after Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina slammed the UN health agency for not endorsing CVO, the organic herbal drink said to treat treat symptoms of patients suffering from the novel coronavirus.
WHO had warned against the use of CVO without any medical supervision and also cautioned against self-medication. The organisation further called for clinical trials of Covid-Organics.

“We are advising the government of Madagascar to take this product through a clinical trial and we are prepared to collaborate with them,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, said last week.

Just like Madagascar’s excitement with their CVO herbal drink, the country was excited over the indigenous umhlonyane plant, which is believed to treat flu-related symptoms.

In Africa, only 2 331 deaths have been recorded as a result of the coronavirus.  Eswatini has 187 confirmed cases and two deaths.

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