Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) has been urged to collaborate with local herbal experts in making sure that alternative medicines are clinically proven to be harmless to humans.
In an exclusive interview with ‘Daily News on Saturday’ in Dar es Salaam, famous herbal expert Dr Danny Kyauka said TFDA was discouraging use of such medicines, instead of carrying on some research to determine their potentials.
“We are dismayed with the TFDA continued insistence that alternative medicine is dangerous for users, instead of telling the success stories of such alternative cures” he said, adding that TFDA does not have laboratories to testify whether herbs could be used as alternative medicine or not.
He appealed to the government through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to continue supporting local herbal experts in the country, to enable them provide alternative technical cooperation in treating patients who are at times forced to fly outside the country for the same purpose.
Giving an example, Dr Kyauka talked about his herbal kidney medicine known as ‘FORMULA BILLYD POWER’ which has already been proven scientifically, claiming he has so far attended over 40,000 patients since 2005.
“When I receive patients I instructed them to undergo in several hospitals like Aga Khan, Regency and Muhimbili National Hospital. When they bring the laboratory results I normally treat them using my medicine.
However, he said that one of the biggest challenges faced by some of his clients today is the inability to afford the high cost of laboratory tests that costs around 35,000 /- for a single test.
He claimed that early in 2010 he paid sh. 25,000/- to TFDA for the registration form of alternative medicine where such authority assured local herbal experts that it organises the process of registration of their medicine but till now nothing has been done.
Entrepreneurs selling baobab tree products have expressed their dismay following a warning by TFDA which has alerted members of the public on the dangers of consuming oil extracted from baobab seeds.
Speaking to the ‘Daily News on Saturday’ at the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) recently, some entrepreneurs contended that if that was the case, TFDA is responsible for endangering people’s health because the product has been in the market for 10 years.
Dr Kyauka awarded a certificate as the 3rd best Invention/ performance award in Industrial Rights for Exhibition of Billyd Formula Herbal Products to mark the 6th African Intellectual Property and Technology Day on 13th September in 2005.
By ASHERY MKAMA. Tanzania Daily News
