Coronavirus (Covid-19) Cure: Could Herbal Medicines Be the Solution to Treat Covid-19?

Over the course of this ongoing pandemic, every single country has been actively looking for a treatment for Covid-19. While waiting and hoping for a vaccine, some African countries such as Madagascar and Cameroon have turned to traditional (herbal) medicine to treat Covid-19.

We all watched on television as the President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina drank a sample of the herbal medicine called Covid-Organics. Covid-Organics was launched in Madagascar on April 20, 2020 and Andry Rajoelina considered this herbal medicine to be a “miracle cure”. [1] Now, I am not sure why Andry Rajoelina will call it a “miracle cure” because so far ongoing test are still going on to test the effectiveness of this herbal medicine. And we are not yet sure on how many people have been cured from Covid-19 while taking this Covid-Organics.

Meanwhile in Cameroon, Archbishop Samuel Kleda, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Douala claimed to have found an herbal medicine called Essential Oils for Covid-19. [2] Archbishop Samuel Kleda credits his 30 years of medicinal plant research experience on herbal treatment for finding the cure for Covid-19. [2] He claimed everyone that had taken this Essential oil treatment had been cured of Covid-19. [2]

While some Africans applaud the gesture and use of herbal medicines, most westerners are against the use of herbal medicines. Personally, these Westerner’s and other skeptical Africans need prove and scientific evidence of these herbal medicines effectiveness on treating Covid-19. Herbal medicines has been in existence for years and it definitely has the potential of being an alternate treatment for Covid-19. In general, we need to keep an open mind for researchers to carry out clinical trials on safety, dosage, and efficacy of herbal medicines on treatment of diseases.

References

1. Salem, S. (2020). No ‘Miracle Cure’ for Coronavirus until Clinical Trials Prove Madagascar’s Herbal Medicine. Retrieved 15 June 2020, from https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/no-miracle-cure-coronavirus-until-clinical-trials-prove-madagascars-herbal

2. Moki Edwin, K. (2020). Hundreds Rush for Popular Cleric’s Herbal COVID 'Cure' in Cameroon. Retrieved 15 June 2020, from https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/hundreds-rush-popular-clerics-herbal-covid-cure-cameroon