Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The government of Zimbabwe has given pharmaceutical companies permission to import Ivermectin, a veterinary drug, Nano Silver and other alternative medications for COVID-19 treatment and evaluation.
In a communique to Richard Rukwata, the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) Acting Director, dated 26 January 2020, the acting Permanent Secretary, in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Robert Mudyiradima said the safety of patients will always be prioritised. Mudyiradima wrote:
In these difficult times of COVID-19 treatment, we have to be very careful to protect the patients as well as not to deny them effective treatment regimens.
It is in this regard that authority is hereby granted for you to proceed under Section 75 of the Medicines and Allied Substance Control Act to allow importation and use of these medicines under the supervision and guidance you outlined.
Ivermectin can be evaluated for both treatment and prophylaxis.
Recently, MCAZ warned members of the public against using ivermectin saying the use of unapproved medicines can lead to negative health problems.
The Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians (ZCPHP) also expressed concern over the widespread use of the ivermectin and the flourishing formal and informal markets of the drug in the country.
