Plant medicine, the right solution to AIDS menace

Ejisu (Ash), July 24, GNA - An herbalist has stated that the assumption that orthodox medicine and not plant medicine was the right mode of seeking cure for HIV/AIDS, is an illusion.

Mr Kamara Agyapong, Managing Director of the Peace Herbal Clinic, who made the statement, said even though orthodox medicine had the potential of treating HIV, plant or herbal medicine had the capacity of not only treating it, but also curing a patient of the disease. He was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Ejisu in Ashanti on Sunday, on efforts being made by some herbalists to come out with a more acceptable cure for HIV.

Mr Agyapong is a renowned herbalist, who is already collaborating with the Department of Bio-Chemistry of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to research into some herbal preparations for the cure of AIDS.

He was worried that even though a number of herbalists had researched on their own on plant and herbs to come out with cures for HIV/AIDS, their chances of administering such medicines to patients were being hindered by the lack of recognition by the authorities.

Mr Agyapong therefore, appealed to the government and those in authority to strive to give recognition and approval to such herbalists to enable them publicly contribute their quota towards the fight against the HIV menace.

He was not happy that the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) had limited its role only to awareness creation about HIV/AIDS, while downplaying initiatives at assisting organisations that were researching into cure for the disease.

He said enough awareness creation had been carried out with support of the GAC and that time had now come for the Commission to channel part of its resources to helping herbalists, research and come out with a cure for HIV.