Accra, Ghana//-Let’s deal with the good news first because there is such a short supply of it. At the beginning of the week, the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) together with the National Medicine Regulatory Agency (NMRA) approved an herbal medicine called CryptolepisSanguinolenta for clinical trials for the treatment of Covid-19.
Known locally as Nibima, this is the first time the regulatory agency has emphatically taken this step towards authorizing a herbal product to treat Covid 19.
In May last year, the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine (CSRPM) at Mampong-Akuapem recommended nine herbal medicines for use as immune support and supportive treatment for the relief of some symptoms of theCovid 19.
The products were COA FS, Herbetine Herbal Powder, Herbetine Herbal Mixture, Viva Plus Powder, AyisaaOpinto Herbal Tea, CD Capsules, Amen Depomix Powder, Amen Fevermix Capsules and Amen Chestico Capsules.
This time, the FDA said in a statement that the approval of Nibima for clinical trial“comes on the back of laboratory studies conducted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) research team which proves the efficacy of the medicine against the novel coronavirus”.
This is great news because Nibima, which is one of the most popular medicines produced by the Mampong Centre for the treatment of fevers and malaria.
Apparently the source herbs are widely available and the medicine could reach a great number of people if its efficacy for Covid 19 is confirmed.
The FDA statement explained that “in the search for the treatment for the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, researchers from the School of Public Health at the KNUST submitted a clinical trial application in September 2020 to assess the safety and efficacy of CryptolepisSanguinolenta as a potential treatment for covid-19.
Given the disastrous experience of the “Madagascar cure” last year, it is important for the trial to be as scientific and thorough as required by international standards. However, a bit of speed and urgency should be injected into the process.
Bad news
The bad news is that even if Nibima turns out to be an effective treatment, vaccines remain the best hope the country and the world have for reducing Covid 19 infections and returning to some kind of normal life this year. And yet, there is not a single dose of any vaccine in the country at the moment. There is talk, promise, and hope of getting vaccines into the country but that is all there is.
If ever there was need for proof that the globe is divided into two different worlds of haves and have-nots, the vaccine situation leaves us in no doubt about where we stand.
While our counterparts in the developed world are getting vaccinated, we are still only planning and hoping; meanwhile, the disease knows no boundaries.
In his latest Covid 19 address to the nation last Sunday, the President said “the country is on course to get at least 17.6 million citizens vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of June”, indicating that “the earliest vaccines will be in the country by March,” it is still patchy information.
“In March” could be on the last day of that month, which leaves our frontline workers and most vulnerable citizens at the mercy of the vagaries of the economy or the largess of international vaccine manufacturers for at best two clear months.
We have heard a lot of talk about the need for international cooperation and solidarity but it appears that when it comes to matters of health all the talk goes out of the window.
Where are the international do-gooders who are so quick to get to Africa’s hotspots to take photos of starving children in refugee camps?
Obviously, with Covid 19 there are no sexy sob-story postcards to send abroad, hence this is no time to think about international solidarity, let alone provide it.
The worst part of the vaccine situation is that desperation is setting in as people try to find ways to beat the delay.
A few wealthy Ghanaians have apparently travelled abroad to get the injection, but more worryingly, there have been reports of counterfeit vaccines appearing on the African market. The government must make even more strenuous efforts to get vaccines into Ghana as soon as it practically can.
The Ugly
Even when we get the vaccine, there is no guarantee that most Ghanaians will embrace the jab in the numbers required to provide protection for the majority of citizens. Since last year, a fierce anti-vaccine campaign has been running on social media which appears to have gathered even more adherents with time.
There are good reasons why people, especially black people around the world to be “vaccine hesitant”, with the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study as an example.
In the absence of a valid opinion sampling on the matter, it is difficult to tell how wide spread anti-vaccine sentiments run in the country but in a recent vox pop TV broadcast, about two-thirds of those interviewed said they would refuse the vaccines.
Apart from a few determined anti vaccine activists, most people who may refuse vaccines are victims of disinformation and propaganda.
Even before the arrival of vaccines we need to plan a communication strategy and approach to how and why they will be administered. It is an uphill task considering the sources of disinformation and the damage done already.
More good news
It is clear that more people are wearing face masks compared to just a couple of weeks ago. This may be due to the fact that we have all been shocked by the astronomical climb of the numbers of infections and deaths in the second wave. Maybe it is also because of enhanced police checks.
Whatever, it is, it is good news. But it can and must be improved. The number of people without masks or wearing them like a decorative piece under their chins is still too high.
By Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, former Chairman of National Media Commission
This article was first published in the Mirror newspaper
