By Cuthbert Otim
SOROTI CITY
Asection of traditional herbalists in Teso sub region has called on Jena herbal limited, the innovators of covidex to collaborate with them in innovating more medicines.
It is possible to use the numerous results obtained on African plants to develop drugs for the treatment of fever, dry cough, breathing difficulties and acting on the immune system in people with Covid-19 in the fight against this pandemic.
Dr Patrick Engeu Ogwang, an associate professor of Pharmacy at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) innovation is said to be a broad spectrum natural remedy intended to manage and treat the Covid-19 virus.
According to Amojong Matilda Akello Omoding, the chairperson of the traditional healers in eastern Uganda, collaborating with Dr Ogwang will be a boost to the innovation industry in Uganda
Matilda says traditional therapists and herbalists play a big role in disseminating information, awareness, communication and capacity building activities via the conventional system with a view to combating this pandemic.
However, in the absence of specific treatments for Covid-19, there is crucial need to conduct research on medicinal plants applicable to traditional medicine.
It is within this framework that the, proposed partnership with tradional herbalists will help identify traditional remedies and medicinal plants used jointly and severally at different levels alone and in combination with conventional treatments.
She reiterated that it would be wise to propose integrated treatment with herbal teas and to study in vitro the antiviral activity of plant extracts on the coronavirus in collaboration with the training and research center on malaria. The expected results will help to address public healthcare, scientific and socio-economic issues.
These concrete actions are in favour of the establishment of partnerships between the two healthcare systems in healthcare and to contribute to the strengthening of local health systems and the improvement of the health status of the populations in the country and Africa as a whole.
