The president of Madagascar, the island off the southeastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, has been touting a homemade plant-based drink as a “miracle cure” for COVID-19, the deadly disease that has scientists everywhere scrambling to find a cure.
Now it seems that Haiti, which is seeing a worrying rise in its novel coronavirus infections, may be looking to join the list of nations placing orders for the purported cure despite misgivings by the World Health Organization and no clinical evidence that the herbal concoction works.
Haiti President Jovenel Moïse and Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina both discussed the drink during a video conference on Tuesday. The drink is derived from the artemisia plant, which has long been used in the treatment of malaria, and other indigenous herbs.
Moïse announced the meeting in a Monday night tweet and later shared a video clip of the encounter on his Twitter feed. He said that both government’s scientific groups established to provide advice on the COVID-19 response will soon meet.
Madagascar, which reported its first death from the coronavirus on Sunday, has reported 322 COVID-19 cases. Continue reading…