President Buhari okays collection of Madagascar’s COVID-19 cure drug

President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed that Madagascar’s COVID-19 cure syrup be  brought to Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on coronavirus control, Boss Mustapha on Monday

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), speaking at the PTF briefing in Abuja, said the Madagascar COVID-19 solution would go through standard validation process before it could be considered for use in Nigeria.

“It has been sent to Guinea Bissau by the President or Prime Minister of Madagascar and certain allocations have been made to different countries. We have an indication of the quantity that has been allocated to Nigeria and we are supposed to make an arrangement to freight it out of Guinea Bissau to Nigeria.

Also speaking at the briefing, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the herbal drug will be subjected to analysis by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to determine its efficacy and safety before it can be adopted for the treatment of COVID-19.

The Madeglucyl – derived from the Eugenia Jambolana Plant, with artemisia as its  primary ingredient. Artemisia  is indigenous to China and was imported to Madagascar in the 1970s, where it is now widely grown on the Island.

The plant’s active compound, artemisinin, is a recognised antimalarial treatment. It was developed by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research which was established in 1957 by Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga, one of the country’s pre-eminent scientists, to research how local plants and traditional practices could be used to treat the disease.

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean. It is approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of East Africa. It is reputed to be the world’s second largest island country.