Coronavirus: Where Are Our Native Doctors?

Africa has long suffered darkness owning to the magnitude of ignorance that exists on the continent. Africa has also long been thought of as a continent of desperation with weak leadership and famishing population. The continent is deep-seated in superstition and religion and culture dominate the lifestyle of many indigenes.

With the outbreak of a world pandemic Corona Virus, the western world is seeking to demonstrate again that the science of this world belongs to them and they are lacing their boot to come and display their discovery on the poor continent. Recently, two French doctors had alluded to the fact that vaccines meant to tackle the coronavirus could best be tested on African soil. They have come under huge backlash as many disagree with them.

Bill Gates, a world billionaire, has also alluded to the fact that vaccines must well be tested on Africans. Though many well-meaning Africans had registered their displeasure, this is not the first time Africa is being used as a testing arena for vaccination. Many pandemics that broke out in the world had their vaccines tested on African soil and the more scientific experiment continues to take place on the continent by the western world.

Africa and Ghana, in particular, are endowed with powerful witch doctors, herbalists, and voodooists who through their practices had found solutions to many epidemics that had surfaced in their communities. They continue to use their practice to solve many ailments and sicknesses foreign to our soil and have succeeded. We have great herbalists who have found a cure to the most deadly diseases like HIV/AIDs and among others.

They are able to cure infertility, tuberculosis, etc without any special machines or research and to some extend had even revived people from the dead. Africa herbalists are great. Ghana is endowed with many of them who know serious herbal medicines that can cure many ailments.

Unfortunately for us, these rich human resources of *‘native doctors’* had been relegated to the background by our leaders. They are waiting for a world body called the World Health Organization (WHO) to direct them on what to do and to dictate the happenings in every country. Meanwhile, we have native doctors who are equally good when it comes to epidemics and pandemics. The coronavirus is not a foreign disease as most of the symptoms are common to many people.

Many herbalists are pleading with the government to allow them to prove their potency by allowing them to administer their drug on people who had contracted the virus. The government had turned deaf ear to them because International Organization had given them funds to combat the situation and thus native doctors (herbalists) do not stand a chance no matter how potent they claim their herb can be.

I believe this is the time for us in Africa to prove to the Whiteman that he was wrong about us and will continue to be wrong about everything he thinks of us.

What is preventing our leaders from allowing our herbal practitioners (native doctors) to showcase their talent? *What is preventing the government from assembling all the native doctors in Ghana and charging them with one responsibility: find the cure for the virus and let's save our people.*

The so called medical doctors are fidgeting in the country and hardly do we hear that certain research is underway to find a cure or vaccine to lower the impact of the virus. We hear them on the radio using the biggest scientist terms and predicting doom if the country is not lockdown amidst threats of sit-downs and a possible strike.

They know how much their will benefit if the virus persists: now the government had announced a 50% bonus on their salary in the next three months. Contact tracers are receiving GH¢150 a day (GH¢4500 monthly). The whole incidence of the coronavirus is about money-making at the expense of the health of the masses.

We ask again, where are our native doctors (herbal medicine practitioners)? What is the government doing with them? How are they contributing their quota to solving the current pandemic as citizens and not spectators? Are we going to wait for WHO to come and announce a date for the vaccine before we open our economy to normal life? It is unfathomable how the whole situation had been shredded in secrecy, massaging and maneuvering of events. Creating unnecessary fear and panics with updates of numbers of infected persons *with some testing kids that might lack credibility and bias as well.*

This lockdown is just artificial; our leaders are just fulfilling the will of their masters. Africa is just responding to the call by WHO. Ghana is just doing the biddings of WHO and nothing else and the truth about this coronavirus is fast evaporating.

If the government really wants to help the people of Ghana and to wean us from the so-called Global War of Pandemic, then the cure is with us here in our country. The Cure is here in Africa. We must tap into the cure and start vaccinating ourselves with it before the Whiteman comes to spring surprises on us and polarize our health environment with secretive vaccines.

God bless our homeland and make our country great and strong.

Isaac Ofori