Madagascar covid-19 cure will be subjected to stringent regulatory process —Nigerian govt

The Federal Government of Nigeria led by President Muhammadu Buhari has informed that the now controversial Madagascar herbal remedy for COVID-19 virus will be subjected to the normal regulatory processes before it can be administered for use in the country.

This was revealed on Tuesday in Abuja by the National Coordinator, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, during the 30th joint national briefing of the taskforce.

Speaking further during the joint national briefing, Aliyu said that the remedy will be subjected to stringent regulatory process within the legal frameworks of the country concerning such circumstance

He said; “I want to start briefly by talking about the Madagascar cure. As directed by the President, I want to state that any medication coming into the country whether it is herbal cure or concoction or normal drug. It has to be subjected to the normal regulatory process.

“The Madagascar cure will be subjected to the normal process we expect within the legal frameworks and guidelines that we have and more importantly, not only to establish its efficacy but for it to be legally registered.

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“So this drug would go through the normal regulatory process which can be stringent before it can be administered in the country,” Aliyu said.

Recall that ECOWAS Commission had debunked reports that its health institution, West Africa Health Organisation had endorsed the COVID-19 cure developed by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research, Madagascar.

ECOWAS Commission in a statement in Abuja last week also denied reports that it had ordered the medicine developed by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research, for the treatment of COVID-19.

The regional body said it was aware that several claims of COVID-19 cures had been made in different parts of the world but added that it could only endorse products that have been shown to be effective through scientific study.

It also said in the statement that WAHO is collaborating with relevant partners including the World Health Organisation, Africa Centres for Disease Control as well as national, regional, and international research consortia to promote the scientific search for a cure.

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