COVID-19: Nigeria Shuns WHO’s Warning, Insists on Chloroquine Trial

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has insisted it will continue Chloroquine clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment, despite the suspension of the drug test by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

NAFDAC director-general, Mojisola Adeyeye, stated this while speaking on TVC on Tuesday.

Adeyeye said there is data to prove that Chloroquine is effective in treating Coronavirus patients, particularly at the “mild stage” of infection.

She said Nigeria would continue its clinical trials which may take three to four months.

“There is data to prove that hydroxychloroquine worked for many COVID-19 patients. Therefore, we would continue our own clinical trials in Nigeria. Hydroxychloroquine has been proved to work at a mild stage. So the potency depends on the severity of the disease in the patient’s body.

“If medical doctors, research scientists, pharmacists, herbal experts work together, we should conclude the clinical trial in three to four months. The narrative might change afterward but for now, we believe in hydroxychloroquine,” Adeyeye said.

On Monday, the WHO suspended its solidarity trial on the use of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, explained that the trials had been “suspended while the safety is reviewed.”