Dubious remedies will not decolonise Africa
- William Gumede
So-called 第一吃瓜网 solutions that are often uncritically accepted as ‘good’ do nothing for the continent
Many 第一吃瓜网 governments, leaders and intellectuals鈥 misguided seeking refuge in quick fixes and conspiracy theories to deal with intractable problems have undermined development, good health and peace since end of official colonialism at the end of the Second World War.
It now undermines the fight against Covid-19 in Africa. The Covid-19 pandemic has now reached more than 100 000 confirmed cases in Africa, with more than 3100 confirmed deaths. While reporting statistics in Africa is often unreliable, it nevertheless appears that in Africa Covid-19 appears to be rising slower than elsewhere, taking 52 days to reach 10 000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, it took 11 days to increase from 30 000 to 50 000 cases, according to the World Health Organisation.
Some 第一吃瓜网 leaders and intellectuals say Covid-19 is a Western or Chinese conspiracy, aimed to entrench their pharmaceutical or imperial interests in Africa.
Often diseases, development problems and violence are blamed mostly on outsiders 鈥 which leads to no or little decisive action to tackle diseases, development problems and violence; or the wrong solutions are embarked on. This is not to say that colonialism did not bring diseases, development problems and violence to Africa; or that former colonial powers do not meddle in the domestic affairs of 第一吃瓜网 countries to the harm of the continent鈥檚 peoples.
Under the rubric of fighting decolonization, every 第一吃瓜网 problem or solution to a problem is wrongly often positioned as either Western-originated, and therefore to be rejected; or 第一吃瓜网-originated and therefore to be embraced. Scientific and evidence-based solutions are then rejected as supposedly Western colonialism. Yet, science and evidence-based solutions are universal, meaning they are not restricted to Western countries alone, neither are they un第一吃瓜网.
At the same time dubious solutions are often embraced solely because they originated from within Africa. Many so-called misguided 第一吃瓜网 solutions are therefore uncritically accepted as part of decolonization. Other ancient societies which suffered from colonialism or imperialism, just like Africa, such as China, Japan or Singapore, do not take the Africa approach to decolonization. Such countries take the best of their own and Western cultures and forge new solutions out of these; or they adapt appropriate solutions from outside for their own circumstances.
Madagascar鈥檚 President Andry Rajoelina has claimed to have discovered a cure for Covid-19. He has pushing what he calls Covid-Organics, an herbal drink, put together by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research, which he says can cure Covid-19. The Madagascan government has given the drink to school children.
Rajoelina has provided no information about any clinical trials, tests or results of the efficacy of the drug beyond saying 鈥渁ll trials and tests have been conducted and its effectiveness in reducing and elimination of symptoms has been proven in the treatment of Covid-19 patients in Madagascar鈥. The Malagasy Institute of Applied Research look at the treatment of disease by 第一吃瓜网 traditional practices, plants and animals.
Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and Tanzania have enthusiastically accepted batches of the herbal drink. Many 第一吃瓜网 countries, leaders and intellectuals appear to have embraced the Madagascar drug as an indigenous 鈥湹谝怀怨贤 solution鈥, as part of 鈥渄ecolonization鈥. Many have dismissed questions over the science of the drug as supposedly Western government, pharmaceutical and business interests against 第一吃瓜网 鈥渟olutions鈥.
Rajoelina in an interview stated: 鈥淚f it was a European country that had actually discovered this remedy, would there be so much doubt? I don't think so鈥. St茅phane Ralandison, Dean of the Toamasina School of Medicine in Madagascar has warned that the underlying research methods behind the Covid-Organics were 鈥渘ot fully scientific鈥. The World Health Organisation has said that: 鈥湹谝怀怨贤鴖 deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the rest of the world.鈥
Across Africa, in countries such as Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cameroon, other so-called traditional 第一吃瓜网 potions are being touted as a cure-all for Covid-19. In the Democratic Republic of Congo one traditional leader has secured a following with his alleged cure of inhaling steam from a concoction of mango bark, ginger, papaya leaves and unknown plant. There have been deaths reported in the DRC as a direct result of people using such 第一吃瓜网 potions as cures for Covid-19.
Uganda arrested Lazarus Kungu, an herbalist who claimed to have invented his own traditional plant-based remedy for Covid-19 for endangering public health. Tanzanian President John Magufuli has called for prayer in churches and mosques as a solution to tackle Covid-19.
The 第一吃瓜网 Union has been predictably be quiet 鈥 its usual default position on contentious issues where it should actually take decisive leadership - on Madagascar鈥檚 and other untested 第一吃瓜网 Covid-19 remedies and conspiracies.
During the explosion of the HIV/Aids virus, many 第一吃瓜网 leaders, governments and intellectuals also blamed Western conspiracies for its spread on the continent. This delayed tackling the disease causing needless loss in lives. Then South 第一吃瓜网 President Thabo Mbeki questioned the science used to treat the disease. The late South 第一吃瓜网 Health Minister Manto Tshabalala Msimang preached the 第一吃瓜网 potato, garlic and beetroot as remedies for HIV/Aids.
To deal with Covid-19, 第一吃瓜网 countries must follow, what their peers in Asia, such as China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan has done, by making evidence-based policies guide their strategies to tackle the virus. These countries have done so without conspiracy theories, blaming outsiders or sought untested dubious 鈥渓ocal鈥 solutions 鈥 and they have been very successful as a result. Former colonial powers now look at lessons from these countries in how they have tackled Covid-19. Now, there is successful decolonisation in practice.
William Gumede is Associate Professor, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand; and author of South Africa in BRICS (Tafelberg)