Nigeria Hasn’t Approved Chloroquine For Coronavirus Treatment – Minister

Nigeria Hasn’t Approved Chloroquine For Coronavirus Treatment – Minister

Nigeria has not recommended the use of chloroquine for the treatment of coronavirus in the country, the minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, said on Friday.

Mr Ehanire said this while answering questions from journalists on the status of Covid-19 in the country.

He said Nigeria has not approved the use of chloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Mr Ehanire said it had not been proven that chloroquine is active against coronavirus.

He said Nigeria would not adhere to the recommendations of U.S. president, Donald Trump, but will rather follow the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

“We no longer use chloroquine in Nigeria. Donald Trump made this announcement but we are not following that announcement.

“We look at what the WHO recommend and we also ask our scientists here what for their recommendations.

“So far, what has been said about chloroquine is it was active in vitro test (test performed in a test tube, or elsewhere outside a living organism) and not in vivo (in the living organism) that is what we know so far about the chloroquine but the situation might change tomorrow,” he said.

Mr Ehanire said the country is “not going to necessarily look at that but we are not ignoring that either possible option”.

He said for the cases Nigeria has had so far, “they did not require the use of chloroquine or any medication”.

He said it had largely been ‘supportive treatment.’

NAFDAC approves production

While the minister said there are yet no plans for the use of chloroquine in the country, Nigeria’s drug monitoring agency, NAFDAC, on Friday said it has approved the production of Chloroquine for clinical trials in tackling COVID-19.

Channels TV reported that the Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, on Friday in Lagos, said NAFDAC is not approving Chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 but for clinical trials to find treatment for the virus.

“In the case of Chloroquine, it has been demonstrated in the literature and with clinical research which is still ongoing, that Chloroquine is superior to the placebo.

“NAFDAC is not approving Chloroquine as a product that can be used for Coronavirus because there is no submission to us for registration but because it is under clinical trials, NAFDAC approves medicines meant for clinical trials.

“Therefore the medicine is being approved just for the clinical trials,” Mr Adeyeye said.