COVID-19 AND HOW AFRICANS ARE PERCEIVED

When HIV/Aids took root in Africa, and public fear began to spread, there were many snake oil salespeople who exploited public anxiety, proffering herbal and other remedies that were useless at best and potentially harmful at worst. We find ourselves at a similar juncture as we navigate the Covid-19 pandemic.

On April 9, when Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina announced that his country had developed a herbal treatment for Covid-19, it was bound to provoke mixed reactions.

And it did. Debate has raged between proponents and opponents of the widely touted mixture, which has been dubbed Covid-Organics. It is based on the artemisia plant, which grows naturally throughout Africa and is used as a traditional remedy for multiple ailments. In 2015, Chinese researcher Professor Youyou Tu received a Nobel Prize for identifying the plant’s healing properties, especially for malaria and flu-like conditions.

As the social