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© RIJASOLO
Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina officially launches a “remedy” based on local medicinal plants capable, according to him, of preventing and curing the new coronavirus, in Antananarivo, on April 20, 2020
Herbal teas, spices, fruits or vegetables. The list of alternative remedies in Africa to cure covid-19 is vast and gaining adherents in a continent where traditional medicine continues to be appreciated and respected.
Madagascar’s head of state Andry Rajoelina praised the healing qualities of an artemisia-based herbal tea – a plant with scientifically proven efficacy against malaria – although he later backed down and only spoke of its preventive virtues, which would make it possible to strengthen the immune system.
© Fabrice COFFRINI
Photo of a mugwort plant, in Conthey on April 21, 2020
“This tea works in seven days,” he said after drinking it, based on trials that have not yet been published. “We can change the history of the world,” he assured.
Dean of Toamasina School of Medicine (East), Dr. Stéphane Ralandison cautioned against the “not very scientific” methods around this herbal tea.
Although it recognizes that some substances can “alleviate the symptoms” of the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) also recalls that, at present, there is “no evidence” that can “prevent or cure the disease”.
© Onesphore NIBIGIRA
Burundians wash their hands in a preventive gesture against the spread of the coronavirus on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, on March 18, 2020
– All healed –
In the absence of a vaccine or even effective treatment offered by Western medicine, traditional healers present themselves as a good option.
This is the case of Gabriel Nsombla, who advertises his potions on the radio waves of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Inhaling the steam from a mixture of mango bark, papaya leaves, ginger and a plant whose name I keep secret guarantees a cure. Everyone who comes to my house is healed,” he says.
Although he admits that he has not yet tried his potions with covid-19 sufferers, the Cameroonian naturopath Anselme Kouam also certifies that “traditional medicine can help fight the coronavirus.”
It recommends infusions based on garlic and ginger, frequently cited for its supposed ability to strengthen immune defenses.
On a continent where traditions are still alive, the emergence of covid-19, which has so far caused nearly 1,200 deaths, saw populations turn to ancient remedies, sometimes without moderation and without discernment.
In late March, United Nations radio in the DRC reported the deaths of three children who had ingested a medicinal plant to prevent contamination by the virus.
Unlike their Chinese colleagues, who have gained recognition in Western countries, traditional African doctors deplore the ridicule they are often still subjected to.
South African herbalist Makelani Bantu regrets that his government has not deigned to respond to his offer to scientifically test his cooking. “We are not even given the opportunity to speak. At the moment they have no solution against covid-19, at least they could try our treatments,” he exclaims.
– Indigenous pharmacopoeia –
“It is time to associate the aborigines to the search for solutions”, highlights the Congolese ethnologist Sorel Eta who, for a quarter of a century, has frequented Akas pygmies in the province of Likuala (north).
“They know the arcana of the forest, especially all the medicinal species found in it. They have always treated diseases whose symptoms resemble those of covid-19,” he says.
In Benin, the healer and voodoo priest Bokonon Azonyihouès works hard with his colleagues to develop a treatment.
“Like large laboratories, we do research and tests,” he explains, “the solution may come from one medicine or another.”
So far, health authorities in several African countries have cautiously welcomed those promises. In early April, the Ugandan Medicines Directorate issued a statement banning the advertising of traditional remedies in the public media, following the arrest of an herbalist who claimed to have identified a treatment for covid-19.
This practitioner, Lazarus Kungu, was accused of endangering public health.
Responsible for the fight against epidemics in the Ministry of Health of Cameroon, Georges Etoundi Mballa assures not to rule out the use of traditional medicine. “All those who can give a scientific answer are welcome,” he says.
South African Health Ministry spokesman Pop Maja says “respect the role of traditional healers.” But up to a point. “We also know that, at the moment, there is no treatment for the new coronavirus, and every day I receive 10 to 15 calls from people who say they have found one …”
burs-sn-pa / bed / sba / mab / mb
