WHO sets rules for testing African COVID herbal remedies
The World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed rules for the testing of African herbal remedies to fight Covid-19.
Sound science would be the sole basis for safe and effective
traditional therapies to be adopted, it said.
Any traditional remedies that are judged effective could be
fast-tracked for large-scale manufacturing.
Madagascar's leader has been promoting an untested product
he says can cure the disease despite the WHO warning against using untested
remedies.
The WHO said the new rules were aimed at helping and
empowering scientists in Africa to conduct proper clinical trials.
The move comes as the number of confirmed cases of
coronavirus worldwide passes 30 million, with reported global deaths standing
at more than 957,000. In Africa there have been more than 1.3 million cases and
than 33,000 reported deaths.
Around 140 potential vaccines for Covid-19 are being
developed around the world, with dozens already being tested on people in
clinical trials.
Alongside these efforts, the green light has now been given
for phrase three clinical trials using African traditional medicines.
A panel of experts, set up by the WHO, the Africa Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union Commission for Social
Affairs, has agreed on the protocols.
Phase three trials usually test the safety and efficacy of a
drug on larger groups of participants.
"The adoption of the technical documents will ensure
that universally acceptable clinical evidence of the efficacy of herbal
medicines for the treatment of Covid-19 is generated without compromising the
safety of participants," said Prof Motlalepula Gilbert Matsabisa, the
panel's chairman.
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