The World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed rules for testing African herbal remedies to combat the coronavirus disease.
Sound science will be the only basis for adopting safe and effective traditional treatments, the report said.
Conventional treatments that are determined to be effective may be quickly adapted to large-scale manufacturing.
Madagascar’s leaders have promoted untested products that they claim can cure the disease, despite WHO warnings against the use of untested treatments.
The WHO said the new rules aim to support and empower African scientists to conduct appropriate clinical trials.
The move comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 30 million, and the global death toll has exceeded 957,000. Africa has reported more than 1.3 million infections and more than 33,000 deaths.
Around 140 vaccine candidates for Covid-19 are being developed around the world, and dozens are already being tested on people in clinical trials.
“Accelerate research”
Alongside these efforts, a third phrase clinical trial using traditional African medicine has been given the green light.
The protocol was agreed to by a panel of experts established by the WHO, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the African Union Commission for Social Affairs.
Phase 3 trials typically test a drug’s safety and effectiveness in a large group of participants.
“The adoption of the technical documentation will ensure the generation of widely accepted clinical evidence on the effectiveness of herbal medicines in treating COVID-19, without compromising the safety of participants,” said the committee members. Professor Motlalepura Gilbert Masabisa, the head of the school, said.
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“The COVID-19 outbreak, like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, highlights the need to strengthen health systems and accelerate research and development programs, including traditional medicine,” WHO’s Dr. Prosper Tumusiim said in a statement. ” he said.
In April, Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina announced Corona Organic to great fanfare, saying it was a prevention and a cure. It was tested on 20 people over a three-week period.
Despite 15,925 coronavirus cases and 216 COVID-19 deaths on the Indian Ocean island, Rajoelina supports herbal preparations.
The drink, which has also been sent to dozens of African countries, is produced by the Madagascar Institute of Applied Research from artemisia plants, a source of ingredients used to treat malaria, and other Malagasy plants.
Dr. Tumusiime said through the WHO’s Africa Vaccine Regulatory Forum, there is now a way to evaluate and approve clinical trials of medicines in the region within 60 days.
