African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic ... - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 13 –Fake Quinine on Marketof physical and mental disabilities on children.It is not clear whether these side effects are a result ofthe use of the counterfeit drugs. Dr. Okware said this isan issue worth investigating.FearsThe Minister of State for Health (Primary Health Care),Emmanuel Otaala said the use of counterfeits mayworsen the impact of malaria in Uganda.Studies show that malaria is not only the leading causeof death in Africa, but also the leading cause ofpoverty. About 20-23% of deaths in Uganda areattributed to malaria.On the issue of quinine injections crippling children,Dr. Otaala admitted the problem is rampant. He saidquinine injections kill muscles, that’s why the ministryis recommending that it is administered through drips.☻☻☻☻☻☻Chloroquine to be PhasedOutEphraim KasoziJuly 26, 2007Daily MonitorIn an effort to strengthen the fight against malaria in thecountry, the National Drug Authority has resolved tophase out anti-malarial drugs that have high resistanceagainst the disease.According to Deus K. Mubangizi, the chief Inspector ofdrugs, the drug regulatory body would phase outchloroquine and Homapak.“We have launched a countrywide survey to assess theamount of mono-therapies in stock and sub optimal toresolve. We intend to phase out the previous antimalarialdrugs that have higher resistance againstmalaria,” he said.Mr Mubangizi made the remarks yesterday at thestakeholders meeting held in Kampala. TheStakeholders’ meeting was organized by Afford todiscuss the role of local pharmaceutical sector inpromoting access to Artemisinin-based CombinationTherapies (ACTs) in Uganda.Mr Mubangizi said the move is aimed at advocating forincreased availability of ACT drugs that includeCoartem, a drug that the government monopolized todistribute in its health centres.☻☻☻☻☻☻Does it Matter: WhetherUganda refuses to take $28mfor Malaria Drugs?with Joachim BuwemboAugust 26, 2005Daily MonitorWho told those fellows sitting in Geneva or whatevertown it is called that Uganda is so poor it needs someoneto treat mosquito bites for it? Reports published earlierthis week indicate that they tried to give us $28m worthof Coartem medicine to treat malaria victims in thiscountry. Between the Global fund chaps and those otherones in World Health Organisation, they even took itupon themselves to negotiate for us with themanufacturers so that they can sell the medicine to uscheaply, at only $2 a dose instead of $40, which a dosecosts on the open market. Were they insinuating that ourrich government cannot afford the “right” price so theygo head and treat us like broke chaps?But our proud officials have showed them a move, as theteenagers would say. In the spirit of national pride, ourofficials have ignored the offer for over a year, leavingthose patronizing Global Fund fellows no choice but tocancel it. That is the way to go. Who told them that weare such weaklings we need those mzungu medicines forour very strong children? Don’t they know we have ourherbs to mix and drink when we fall sick? Do theyimagine Ugandans are tourists who need to be pamperedwith sophisticated medicines in order to fight malaria?Today, malaria only kills a few hundred children a week.If it was killing a million, there would be cause foralarm. But it cannot even kill ten thousand a day, andsome fellow wants to give us mzungu medicine! Theproblem with some of these donors is that they imagethat our rich forests do not have enough plants to treatour diseases. They forget that we have a very richheritage of flora in our forests to deal with simplematters like mosquito bites. Have they ever seen amonkey dying of malaria for example?Why do we have the only colony of mountain gorillas inthe world? Isn’t that proof that our forests are veryhealthy? If they continue dangling their money in frontof us, trying to rush us into making transactions inGeneva, we can all walk to the forest in protest and livethere for a year. This will show them that we can dowithout their Coartem. Or do those Global Fund busybodies forget that our present leaders lived for five yearsin the bush without dying of malaria?”Continue on page 15-14- Traditional African Clinic July/August 2007