The Economic Community of West African States, Ecowas, has refuted reports that it endorsed Madagascar’s Covid-19 coronavirus herbal cure, COVID-Organics (CVO). 

The regional bloc and its sister agency, West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), denied endorsing or receiving  a batch of donated COVID-Organics herbal ‘cure’ from Madagascar. 

In a joint statement, the organisations said: “We wish to dissociate ECOWAS and its health Institution, West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), from this claim and to inform the general public that we have not ordered the said CVO medication.

“As part of its mandate to safeguard and improve the health of the region’s population, WAHO remains committed to promoting rational traditional medicine practices and products in the ECOWAS region, and over the years has worked consistently with the Member States to scientifically investigate plant medicines of proven efficacy.”  

According to the statement, these products are documented in our ECOWAS Pharmacopoeia of Traditional Medicines, the second edition of which will be published in the next few weeks.

WAHO has also in the recent past identified, nurtured and supported centres of excellence in traditional medicine across the ECOWAS region.

“We are working with Member States on some of the medications available for clinical trials and for use on a compassionate basis in selected severe cases. Some of the traditional medicine centres of excellence in the ECOWAS region are also currently investigating products of potential efficacy.”

 ECOWAS Commission and WAHO said they “will continue to focus on delivering on the decisions made by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at their recent Extraordinary Summit on the fight against Covid-19, one of which is to strengthen cooperation among Member States in research, training and experience sharing in health matters in general, and in the fight against Covid-19 in particular.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba