The Federal Government has said the ‘Artemisia annua’, the plant extract in Madagascar’s announced ‘remedy’ for coronavirus also grows in Nigeria.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, revealed this during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja on Monday.
Ehanire said samples of the said plant would be got from Madagascar and compared with the ones which grow here in the country.
He said, “The cure from Madagascar has been making the news and we have promised to get samples of the herb or the botanical products that is there for analysis and (also) use (that) as an opportunity to speak with the health authorities, particularly the scientific community, on how they use it.
“We will give that to the research community with us here to examine and see what they can do with it. We understand that it is something called Artemisia annua which also grows here but if we get it, we will like to compare it with the strain here whether they are identical or whether they are similar and see what properties they have. Things like that are subjected to analysis.
“All countries in the world are interested in finding a cure and we are no different and we will look at all options, possibilities, and promises that were made. But before we give them to our people, we will ensure they are safe and make sure they work.”
The PUNCH reports that the Chairman of the PTF, Boss Mustapha, on Monday, said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) ordered the importation of Nigeria’s share of the Madagascar ‘remedy’ from Guinea-Bissau.
