Buhari-led govt speaks on using local herbs to cure COVID-19 infected patients

Federal Government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has said it will allow the use of local herbs in the tackling the deadly coronavirus in Nigeria.

Onyxnews Nigeria reports that Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health said the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development must first certify the efficacy of local herbs before using for treating COVID-19 patients.

Ehanire was quoted to have made this known while speaking during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

He made it clear that local herbs can be classified into those that can either cure coronavirus or reduce the virus.

Ehanire said: “Before now, it was said that Chloroquine can destroy the virus. But test are still going on in that regard.

“We have to test the efficacy of local drugs to see of it can kill the virus and also to find out that is in the profess of killing the virus, it can affect the body. So, the Institute will carry out the required test on the local drugs find out how it can work”.

Previously, Ehanire had revealed that Remdesivir was being used to treat patients infected with COVID-19 pandemic.

In a related development, this reliable online news platform reported that a Nigerian pharmacist and proponent of alternative medicine, Ben Amodu, had previously said that he had formulated drugs that can cure the COVID-19 pandemic.

Onyxnews Nigeria also reported that Amodu said three of the drugs he had produced possessed properties that could cure victims of the pandemic disease even as he claimed that the drugs had cured three patients showing the symptoms of the disease.

The foremost pharmacist said known in an interview in Abuja.

Amodu who is the proprietor of Africa Alternative Medicine Hospital and a Fellow of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria explained that one of his drugs for curing malaria fever and typhoid, SAABMAL, is more effective than chloroquine.

Some of drugs Ben Amodu formulated.

According to him, “It is listed by NAFDAC and it is in the market doing very well.