May 6, 2020 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s First Vice-President and deputy chairperson of the country’s High-Level Taskforce on Coronavirus, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, has recommended to President Salva Kiir to request from the Madagascar President, Andry Rajoelina, the import of what Madagascar believed to be a cure.
Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina last month launched an herbal remedy that he claimed could prevent and cure the disease. The announcement caught medical experts, who have scrambled to find a cure for the disease that has killed more than 252,000 and infected at least 3.6 million people globally, by surprise.
Following Rajoelina’s claims, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised people against using untested remedies for COVID-19.
“Africans deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the rest of the world,” WHO, the United Nations health agency, said in a statement on Monday. “Even if therapies are derived from traditional practice and natural, establishing their efficacy and safety through rigorous clinical trials is critical.”
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However, despite the WHO warning, several African countries, among which is Tanzania, Congo-Brazzaville and Guinea-Bissau, have started importing the herbal tonic from Madagascar. According to the Malagasy president the cure known as “Covid-organics will be distributed free of charge to African countries and it will be sold at very low prices to others.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Dr. Richard Lako the Director-General at South Sudan’s Ministry of Health said the Taskforce during a meeting chaired by Machar recommended to the President to ask for the “cure” from the Malagasy president.
“The Taskforce commended and appreciated the support offered by the government of Madagascar and they recommended to the President to communicate to his counterpart in Madagascar so that they can avail the same support to South Sudan,” Lako said.
