adminMonica Cheru-Mpambawashe
A lot of people would never step into raw sewage, not because they are squeamish, but because they are acutely aware of the potential hazards to health that lurk therein.
Not many people would eat food from questionable sources or fail to wash their hands before eating what they consider safe. Yet a surprising number of people are spending a lot of money each month to buy pills, liquids, lotions, soaps and creams that may be detrimental to their health.
What should be a black market seems to have been gradually legitimised into an industry where the players openly advertise their wares.
Why do we see adverts in the media from prophets and traditional healers claiming that they can cure all sorts of illnesses yet it is understood that medicines should not be advertised?
Why are the flyers from people claiming to sell imported products that get rid of all chronic diseases now a common sight at every street corner?
Why are we allowing the people who are preying on unfortunate people to get away with murder?
For in my book convincing someone with a life threatening illness to eschew proven medication for a dubious alternative is pure murder.
The way that business is booming for those in the business of providing alternative medical solutions shows that they have a free field in which to play their deadly game.
Figures on actual spending are sketchy but they are likely to run into millions of dollars per year.
For this article in this category I am including miracle waters and oils distributed by various religious people including popular and apostolic prophets.
I am also including the whole range of supposed medicines that are being sold by traditional healers and distributors who are importing various substances.
It has become common to see newspaper adverts and fliers from all the above groups claiming that they have medicines that can cure HIV, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, rheumatism, skin diseases, heart conditions, mental illnesses and everything else that can possibly afflict a human being. The prophets also claim to be able to get rid of disabilities.
A fairly new distributor who has hit the streets in the past couple of years seems to be growing from strength to strength.
From just a few some months ago, a multitude of uniformed agents are now to be found everywhere as they hand over fliers stating that they have medicines to treat all the major non-pandemic illnesses. Most of the medicines cost a minimum of $30 a month.
Some people have blamed the poor state of the health delivery system and also point to the high cost of service. But with some of the supposed alternative medicines costing as much as over $100 for a month’s supply, that argument becomes null and void.
Other people have said that the alternative routes offer hope for treatment which cannot be reflected by the conventional option when it comes to chronic diseases.
Many people do not want to be permanently on a drug which effectively becomes their life support system.
So they are keenly attracted by the offer of treatment seductively dangled before them by these ‘healers’ who claim to offer cures, not just treatment and management of afflictions. In that case the solution is to stop these preachers to stop making those claims.
Personally I believe that part of the problem is that these people are allowed to operate openly as though what they are doing is perfectly legal.
There seems to be no serious effort by the concerned ministry and its organs to enforce the laws which is unequivocal.
I cannot honestly believe that enough effort is being made to punish offenders by confiscating and destroying their stocks as well as making them answer to the law.
We approached the relevant authority and the following is an exact reproduction of the questions we asked and the answers we got from director-general of Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe Ms Gugu N Mahlangu concerning the issue.
The Herald: Following the banning of nutritional supplements that turned out to be male sexual enhancers, what have you done to ensure that drug providers are abiding by your ban?
Ms Mahlangu: The ban is still in force. We do not authorise the importation of the banned male sexual performance enhancing products. The information on the ban was widely circulated and licensed wholesalers and pharmacies know that it is illegal to sell the banned products or similar products. We inspect the medicines distribution channels and check for presence of the banned products. Any outlets that continue to sell such products will be prosecuted.
The Herald: Are you monitoring the other products being sold by various distributors including herbalists and large organisations purporting to cure illnesses like STIs, Diabetes and even HIV?
Ms Mahlangu: We enforce the integrity of our licensed/authorised medicines distribution channels to ensure adherence to the requirements of the regulations that require medicines that treat STIs, Diabetes and HIV to be registered first, and to be accessible to patients that hold a valid prescription issued by a medical practitioner.
Apart from the legitimate medicines distribution channels there are also illicit channels that do not hold licenses or permits from us. Such illicit channels can illegally import (smuggle) unregistered and/or banned medicines and distribute them. We depend on the public informing us of illegal activities such as selling of unregistered or banned medicines and MCAZ enlists the help of CID Drugs to confiscate the medicines and prosecute the offenders.
The Herald: What is your organisation’s position on anointing oils whose distributors are claiming that they treat all sorts of illnesses including HIV?
Ms Mahlangu: The Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act (15:03) defines a medicine as:
‘… any substance or mixture of substances which is used, or is manufactured, sold or represented as suitable for use, in—
(a) the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease or any abnormal physical or mental state or the symptoms thereof in man or in animals; or
(b) restoring, correcting or modifying any physical, mental or organic function in man or in animals…’
By selling any substance that purports to treat illness, the sellers are contravening the Act (15:03) and they risk prosecution under that Act (15:03).
Online Reporter