Medicines Authority warns against herbal remedies

THE Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has warned members of the public against using herbal medicines, which are being supplied by unregistered companies.

Lately, there has been an increase in the number of individuals and companies selling a wide range of products which include herbal medicine in the form of capsules.

They sell banned medicines, those considered dangerous or prescription drugs over the counter. These unregistered companies are also supplying medicines to dealers selling over the counter instead of registered pharmacies.

The move comes as Government and authorities step up efforts to curb drugs and substance abuse.

MACZ spokesperson Mr Davison Kaiyo warned those behind the sale of unregistered herbal medicines that the long arm of the law will soon catch up with them.

“The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe is responsible for protecting public and animal health by ensuring that accessible medicines and allied substances are safe, effective and of good quality,” he said.

He said MACZ is responsible for the registration of all human, veterinary and complementary medicines.

Mr Kaiyo said some of the medicines, which are not registered or approved are smuggled into the country.

“These are normally smuggled mostly from Asia and other regional countries. They are not imported through legal channels since it is a requirement that one should get an import permit whenever they intend to import complementary medicines,” he said.

Mr Katiyo said an import permit is only issued to a distributor for only approved complementary medicines.

“Porous borders are therefore, a challenge which stakeholders are working on addressing,” he said.

Mr Kaiyo said MACZ conducts routine training seminars with various stakeholders such as the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and National Prosecuting Authority in a bid to disseminate information with regards to complementary medicines.

He said some processes have to be followed for one to import complementary medicines used in conjunction with conventional therapy in humans or animals.

Mr Kaiyo said several companies and individuals have been prosecuted for flouting regulations.

“Many of these distributors and sellers normally have certificates from the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe (TMPCZ), which however, do not authorise them to sell complementary medicines,” he said.

A comment could not be obtained from TMPCZ as their landline continually went unanswered.

However, a local traditionalist Mr David Mhabhinyana Ngwenya said it is worrying to note an influx of foreign nationals purporting to sell herbal remedies.

“We have a meeting on Wednesday and this is one of the major issues we will be discussing,” he said.

A Chronicle news crew managed to track an Indian national Mr Kalasena Sampattu who said he is part of a group that has been touring parts of Africa with the hope of establishing herbal shops.

He said they were licensed to sell their products that are branded under the name Adivasi Herbal Medicines and were cleared by TMPCZ.

“We are here on a promotional programme and we were licensed by TMPCZ. We just want to establish a market in the country and the response has been overwhelming compared to other African countries. We are not selling our products in large quantities but in small packs,” said Mr Sampattu.