In a video, the Ooni of Ife, a Nigerian traditional healer, says that plant products and sulphur can be used to treat COVID-19, and a vaccine for the disease can be extracted from the substances too.
Herbs, fruit and vegetables can treat Covid-19, claims Nigerian traditional ruler Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi in a video posted on his Instagram account on 30 March 2020., Ogunwusi, also called the Ooni of Ife, is well known in Nigeria., He writes in the video’s caption: “To solve this ailment is through natural elements put together above all from nature. It has been tested!!! I have used it and also used it for some of the chronic Corona patients with testimonials … I also challenge researchers both in Nigeria and the world to make these natural herbs into clinical medicine and extract the vaccines from it. I am ready to work with them and provide huge access to the herbs. It is real and it works.”, In the video, Ogunwusi says plant products – including onions, forest anchomanes, bitter leaf, neem leaves and fruits, African pepper, boundary tree leaves and aridan fruit – as well as sulphur can be used to treat Covid-19., The video has also been posted on YouTube and Facebook., The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed more than 370 cases of Covid-19 in the country, with 11 deaths. But is there any truth to the Ooni of Ife’s claims of a cure and possible vaccine?, “There is no scientific evidence to the claim,” Andrei Muchnik, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, told Africa Check., And we could find no mention of Ogunwusi’s remedies in the WHO’s latest peer-reviewed scientific findings database on Covid-19., The WHO clearly says there is still no cure for Covid-19., “While some western, traditional or home remedies may provide comfort and alleviate symptoms of Covid-19, there is no evidence that current medicine can prevent or cure the disease,” the WHO says on its website., “WHO does not recommend self-medication with any medicines, including antibiotics, as a prevention or cure for COVID-19. However, there are several ongoing clinical trials that include both western and traditional medicines. WHO will continue to provide updated information as soon as clinical findings are available.”, Vaccines stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against certain diseases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control., “Vaccines contain the same germs that cause disease … but they have been either killed or weakened to the point that they don’t make you sick,” the CDC explains., Vaccines are developed from the actual disease-causing germs. Ogunwusi’s claim that a Covid-19 vaccine could be “extracted” from his “natural herbs” is false., The WHO says there is currently no vaccine to protect against Covid-19. “Possible vaccines and some specific drug treatments are under investigation. They are being tested through clinical trials.” – Motunrayo Joel, , "A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”. What should you do? First, dont delete!", Click on our guide for the steps you should follow., Publishers guide, Africa Check is a partner in Facebook’s third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media., The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it., You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how., Africa Check is working with the CoronaVirusFacts/DatosCoronaVirus Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 fact-checkers fighting misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic., Learn more about the alliance here., , © Copyright Africa Check 2020. Read our republishing guidelines.\xa0You may reproduce this piece or content from it for the purpose of reporting and/or discussing news and current events. This is subject to: Crediting Africa Check in the byline, keeping all hyperlinks to the sources used and adding this sentence at the end of your publication: “This report was written by Africa Check, a non-partisan fact-checking organisation. View the original piece on their website", with a link back to this page., We depend on voluntary donations to run this site. Please help us to keep public figures accountable by supporting the project., Find out more, For democracy to function, public figures need to be held to account for what they say. The claims they make need to be checked, openly and impartially. Africa Check is an independent, non-partisan organisation which assesses claims made in the public arena using journalistic skills and evidence drawn from the latest online tools, readers, public sources and experts, sorting fact from fiction and publishing the results., , Get a weekly dose of facts, straight to your inbox.
Fruit, veg and ‘natural herbs’ can’t cure Covid-19, produce vaccine | Africa Check