FG May Approve Local Herbs to Battle COVID-19 ― Health Minister

By our reporter

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Tuesday, told the House of Representatives that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, is open to the possibility of using local herbs to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, but insisted that the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development must first certify any such remedy.

The Minister who made the disclosure when the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefed members of the House of Representatives, also said it was wrong for hospitals to turn back patients as a result of fear of COVID-19.

He said the government was not ruling out the possibility of using local herbs for the treatment of COVID-19, adding that what the government was saying was that those who claim to have found cure should subject it to test by the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.

He said local herbs can be categorised unto drugs that can cure the virus or those that can reduce the symptoms, adding that the body must be able to build the required antibodies to neutralise 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 if it can kill or virus and also to find out that is in the process 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”.

He warned that doing so may result to another round of national health emergency since leaving other ailments unattended to can be fatal.

The Minister also said many people who are infected with the virus may not display any symptom and may innocently be infecting others with it, explaining that this explains the need for self-isolation and staying at home.

He said those without symptom are capable of transferring the virus to others with less immunity and this is dangerous. The solution is to keep everybody in isolation.

While describing the situation in Kano as a sad, he said the Nigerian government is currently participating in various research to find a solution to the pandemic.

He, however, dismissed claims that the mysterious death in Kano was caused by COVID-19, adding that the PTF was still waiting for the result of tests carried out in Kano and therefore was not in a position to attribute the cause of death in the state to the pandemic.