Pharmacists under the aegis of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and other health workers under the umbrella of Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) provided reasonsNigeria should not import the herbal tonic from Madagascar.
JOHESU is the umbrella body of all health workers in Nigeria, excluding medical doctors.The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, on Monday during the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja, said Nigeria was expected to receive samples of COVID-Organics, the herbal medicine used by Madagascar to treat COVID-19 patients.
Mustapha, who doubles as the chairman of the task force, however, said that the herbal medicine would go through standard validation process before it could be considered for use in Nigeria.
But in a reaction yesterday, PSN rejected the plan to import the herbal tonic from Madagascar, describing it as “thoroughly disgraceful.”President of PSN, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, said the plan became disgraceful because:
•Nigeria has about 174 universities (43 federal, 52 state and 79 private); 20 faculties of pharmacy and about 69 Federal Government-funded research institutes, including National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Abuja and the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR),Yaba, Lagos while Madagascar has only six universities, one faculty of pharmacy and nine research centres.
• Nigeria has some of the best scientists (pharmaceutical, medical, biochemical, biological, among others) in the world who have done so much work on natural and herbal medicines.
•Nigeria has developed a pharmacopeia of natural and herbal products and has one of the richest flora and fauna–potent sources of phytomedicines.
•Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, a number of them have raised their voices that they have herbal and natural products that can be used to treat or manage COVID-19. Some have patents. Many herbal companies and producers have announced specifically that they have herbal formulations that can do what this ‘invention’ from Madagascar does.
Ohuabunwa said: “The PSN has received the news that the Federal Government of Nigeria is about to import a herbal concoction called COVID Organics (CVO) from Madagascar with utter disbelief. While in principle we would not mind Nigerian government importing any new drug that is proven to cure COVID-19 or indeed any other disease for which we have neither the capacity, nor the technology to produce locally, we are totally appalled that Nigeria is about to spend scarce foreign exchange to ‘import coal into Newcastle’. Even if we are not going to pay for this, it is thoroughly disgraceful that a country that should be the leader of Africa, with the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will allow itself to be dragged this low.”
The PSN boss recalled that pharmacists had raised their voices severally that the Federal Government should review these claims by local experts and help put their inventions through clinical evaluation, as most of them could not afford to conduct clinical trials.
According to him, pharmacists have recommended that a portion of the nearly N25 billion donated/allocated for the COVID-19 pandemic should be dedicated for local research and development, but the government has remained essentially silent, only waiting to participate in the World Health Organisation (WHO)-sponsored or mandated trials.
“We have been told that Nigeria is participating in the WHO solidarity trial, but nothing on trying our own inventions and formulations.” Ohuabunwa added: “Now we want to import COVID Organics from Madagascar to try? Why are we like this? If the world can supply us synthetic and chemically sophisticated medicines which we apparently lack the technology to produce, why must we wait for the world to supply us herbal formulations which we can easily make because we have similar products?
“We urge our government to save Nigerian pharmaceutical scientists and other scientists from the shame of having our country import and try herbal remedies which God has given us in abundance and some of which our grandfathers and grandmothers have used for ages. Let us try our own local formulations before we try COVID Organics or any other imported remedy. Every well-meaning nation has been in a race to find cures, remedies and other medical supplies used for COVID-19, while we seem to wait for other nations to solve our problems. There is much talk but little action.
“This dependency mentality needs to change and now is the time. We must seize this opportunity to look inwards, build confidence in our abilities and competences, and re-orientate our national economic philosophy from import dependency to export driven. Nigeria can beat India and China in the production and export of herbal products if anyone is willing to lead us down this part.”
A traditionalist and Chief Executive Officer, Olaking International Holistic Medicine, Dr. Qazeem Olawale, lauded government’s search for solution in herbal medicine, but said the move was in a wrong direction.
The microbiologist, who had challenged the Federal Government in the past to bring COVID-19 patients to him for treatment, said herbal medicine had proven its worth in the healthcare sector.
“It will be a great stride in the fight against Covid-19 to have a cure proven to treat and manage coronavirus. It is also a good development that the government is heeding our long-standing call for integrative medicine approach in the fight against the virus.
“It is, however, sad that government does not have sufficient belief in the traditional medicine practitioners who are learned and professionals in their practice. It embitters that we embrace a solution from Madagascar even though we have everything it takes to develop and produce locally made herbs that will aid in the fight against Covid-19. Long before Covid Organics came, we pleaded with the Federal Government to recognize the traditional medicine in the fight against Covid-19. We are giants of Africa and we should be the one leading in innovative and integrative ways of attending to problems like this. No matter how efficacious, a vital principle of natural medicine is that no cure is as efficient for a group of people than a cure developed from their own locality.
“This is simply because we have more than what is required to cure this disease in no time. It’s high time we embraced our indigenous herbs, otherwise, we would not be helping ourselves healthwise and economy wise,” he said. He urged the government to call on traditional and alternative medicine practitioners to come forth to defend their claims.
The Chairman of JOHESU, Comrade Bio Joy Josiah, told The Guardian: “Ordinarily, one will wonder why the Federal Government will start with a Madagascan herbal tonic. It is better to make further enquiries on this matter for informed decision-making.
“We have an emergency on our hands right now. Naturally, people want anything that brings a remedy at reasonable cost. Our attitude should be to allow any remedy that has successfully passed through due process of the scientific evaluations/protocol at National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to be used at this time. So, whether it is a Somalian, Chadian or Nigerien tonic would not really matter as long as it brings relief without adverse reactions or other negative consequences to a consumer.”
Meanwhile, the Federal government has said it is in a hurry to obtain a homegrown cure for the coronavirus disease just like other countries of the world and assured indigenous researchers who have developed any potential drug for Covid-19 that they will receive appropriate certification if found fit for human consumption.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mustapha, who stated this at the daily update on COVID-19 in Abuja, observed that since the recording of the index case, Nigerians had clamoured for research into a homegrown solution to COVID-19.
He noted that “some countries are trying to abridge the processes of trials to shorten the time as we are not expecting any vaccine to be on the shelve until towards the end of 2021 for industries that have perfected the processes of manufacturing the vaccine.”
Mustapha, therefore, appealed to researchers to be patient and subject their drugs to regulatory processes so that if they were found fit for human consumption, they would receive appropriate certification
He said: “I listened to one of the drug manufacturers in US saying that they will provide the world with billions of vaccine by the end of 2021. We are in 2020 and this is the time Covid-19 is ravaging the entire world, but we are not in a hurry to release those drugs. So my appeal to our homegrown researchers is to be patient and go through regulatory process so that if their drugs are found fit for human consumption, they will receive appropriate certification.
(Culled from guardian)
