Govt looking into traditional medicine to help fight Covid-19
The Department of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation is looking to rope in the help of traditional African herbs to assist in the fight against Covid-19.
Minister Blade Nzimade briefed the media in Pretoria on Wednesday on several interventions made by the government to try and manage the pandemic.
He said R15 million has been reassigned from existing projects to focus on traditional cures.
"One of the herbs our team is working on is Artemisia afra which is also known as Umhlonyana or Legana.
"We are also leading a research and innovation pillar of the Cannabis Industrialisation Master Plan. To this extent, our focus is to develop medicinal products for Covid-19, cancers, diabetes, TB, and HIV/AIDS and neurodegenerative diseases, amongst others," added Nzimande.
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He said traditional healers have come on board and a meeting was held with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to review the role played by traditional African medicine in the battle against Covid-19, as well as possible collaborations between African countries.