Madagascar President, Andry Rajoelina has said criticism of an untested herbal tonic that he is touting as a treatment for Covid-19 shows the West’s condescending attitude towards Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against using untested remedies. Mr Rajoelina’s tonic has not gone through clinical trials. The African Union has also said it wanted to see the scientific data on the “safety and efficacy” of the product, known as Covid-Organics.
“If it was a European country that had actually discovered this remedy, would there be so much doubt? I don’t think so,” Mr Rajoelina said in an interview with French news channel, France 24 and RFI. WHO has said Africans deserved access to medicines that have gone through proper trials even if they are derived from traditional treatments. In the television interview, Mr Rajoelina said “African scientists… should not be underestimated.”
But there is no peer-reviewed data to show that Covid-Organics is effective. A meeting of 70 experts on African traditional medicine has agreed that clinical trials for all medicines must be carried out, the WHO’s Africa region has tweeted
