THAT Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries (PHD) leader Walter Magaya, who has indicated that he will soon start distributing his so-called HIV and Aids cure, has torched a storm is not in doubt.
Editorial
Magaya’s Aguma, which he claims cures HIV and cancer, should be stopped in its tracks before he causes extensive damage to the great work that has so far been done in the campaign against the pandemic in Zimbabwe and elsewhere.
Matters to do with HIV and Aids, and how they are dealt with, are quite sensitive even at the national, if not global, level. As a result, a so-called prophet or any other person for that matter cannot just wake up and decide that they now have a cure for HIV and Aids, a feat which has escaped medical science for decades, and in which a lot of research is still going on.
If his intentions were as noble as he claims, why did he jump the gun by releasing the so-called cure without it having gone through due processes like every other new drug or medicine that has to be tested under the auspices of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe before it can be used in the country?
Already, there are reports that people have started accessing the drug and we believe government has an obligation to take a sterner approach than it has so far shown.
If government does not swiftly clampdown on this outrage, what message would it be sending out? That anyone, anywhere in this country, under whatever inspiration or influence, can come up with their own drugs and start distributing them willy-nilly? There will be chaos! A country is governed by laws and people should abide by them.
There are a number of questions that arise out of this debacle: What is going to happen in the case of people already taking other drugs, say for HIV, diabetes or hypertension? Will they be compatible? How about the side-effects?
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We believe it is wiser for people on ARVs to stick to their tried and tested medicines until this so-called new drug is certified by the relevant authorities and prescribed by doctors, that is if it passes the rigorous tests that it will surely undergo, if at all. Those who will take the drug must also take heed that they are doing it at their own peril, and should be prepared to deal with whatever outcomes.
If they are already on medication, they should be sure that this drug is amicable to that combination, otherwise they will find themselves worse off.
Health and Child Care permanent secretary Gerald Gwinji was clear that herbal medicines now required approval by MCAZ, and we pray that Magaya takes heed.
It is unhelpful to be over-excited by things that may cause us greater trouble in future. Just get the drug reviewed and assessed. Why the hurry? Is there something to hide?
Is Magaya hired to divert the attention of Zimbabweans from their many economic problems or simply providing comedy to get citizens to have a chuckle?
