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Tanzania says it received its first shipment of Madagascar’s self-proclaimed plant-based “cure” for coronavirus, despite warnings from the World Health Organization that its effectiveness is unproven.
Friday’s announcement came days after Madagascar said it would start selling the herbal concoction, known as Covid-Organics, and that several African countries had already placed orders.
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“Tanzania today received support from Madagascar’s coronavirus medicine,” government spokesman Hassan Abas said on Twitter.
The supposed remedy is a drink derived from mugwort, a plant with proven efficacy in the treatment of malaria, and other indigenous herbs.
Last month, Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina launched the remedy at a press conference, drinking from a fancy brand bottle filled with an amber liquid that he said had already cured two people.
Since then, Madagascar has been giving away thousands of bottles of the product, developed by the state-run Malagasy Institute for Applied Research, to countries in Africa.
“Tanzania today received support from Madagascar’s coronavirus medicine,” said government spokesman Hassan Abas.#Tanzania Gets Madagascar’s anti-coronavirus drink contested by WHO https://t.co/gU4AVoyQRi#Coronavirus
– Hamza Mohamed (@Hamza_Africa) May 8, 2020
Earlier this week, the East African island nation told Reuters news agency it would start selling the drink, which in the country can be bought for around 40 cents a bottle.
Along with Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau have already received thousands of doses of Covid-Organics for free.
Guinea-Bissau has received more than 16,000 doses, which it is distributing to the other 14 African nations.
Liberia’s deputy information minister Eugene Farghon said this week that there was no plan to test the remedy prior to distribution.
“It will be used by Liberians and will be used by Liberians,” he said, noting that the WHO had not tried other popular local remedies.
“Madagascar is an African country … Therefore, we will proceed as an African nation and continue to use our African herbs.”
WHO expresses doubts
But the WHO has warned against “adopting a product that has not been tested to see how effective it is.”
Isolated compounds extracted from mugwort are effective in antimalarial drugs, the WHO noted, but the plant itself cannot treat malaria.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa also said the drink should “be thoroughly tested.”
Health specialists are concerned that people who drink the product may feel that they are immune to Covid-19 and that they behave in a risky manner, said WHO chief of Africa Matshidiso Moeti.
“We are concerned that promoting this product as a preventative measure may make people feel safe,” he said.
The African Union (AU) said on Monday it was trying to obtain technical data from Madagascar on the remedy, and would pass it on to the CDC in Africa for evaluation.
“This review will build on global technical and ethical standards to obtain the necessary scientific evidence,” said the UA.
Meanwhile, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has been criticized for minimizing the severity of the coronavirus pandemic.
After Magufuli accused the Ministry of Health on April 22 of fueling panic by releasing new figures, the country only updated its numbers once, on April 29, when it had registered 480 cases.
Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said on Friday that the government will resume regular updates in a few days after completing improvements to the country’s laboratory infrastructure.
“The coronavirus is there and will continue for a couple of months. We have patients and others are dying,” said Mwalimu. “We need to learn to live with it by taking precautionary measures.”
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