A group of elders have called for quick processing of herbal remedies that have shown progress in treating cancer and diabetes owing to the high and increasing burden of these Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Uganda.
The elders who have either battled or had close family members who have suffered from the two ailments welcomed a recent move by President Museveni to express support for the development into a drug recognized globally of a concoction made by herbalist David Ssenfuka.
Samuel Wako Wambuzi, the former Chief Justice told journalists that it’s about time Uganda started focusing on having local innovations in healthcare prepared to standards acceptable the world over since they are proving to work. He was attending a meeting in which the herbalist was unveiling members of the board of LeonBiotec Foundation that was started to conduct research and create awareness about Cancer and Diabetes.
He said his wife succumbed to cancer and a granddaughter is battling diabetes which is why he is joining the awareness efforts.
Other members of the board that is chaired by former minister of Science and Technology Dr Elioda Tumwesigye include former Makerere University Vice-Chancellor Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu, Former Buganda Kingdom Prime Minister Joseph Mulwanyamuli Ssemwogerere, Former Buganda Minister Dennis Walusimbi, Kyambogo University deputy vice-chancellor, Prof. Goretti Musoke, Makerere University Senior Lecturer at the College of Public Health Dr Edith Nakku and Uganda Management Institute Director Dr Kasozi Mulindwa.
Joshua Buyinza the Corporate Affairs officer at Leonia-NNN- Diagnostic and Research Center, which Ssenfuka leads, said elders have joined the awareness campaign as a sign of solidarity that the battle against these killer diseases cannot be fought by trained medics alone but with a mix of expertise and experiences noting that they shouldn’t be mistaken to be against the effectiveness of conventional medicine.
On his part, former parliamentarian and Educationist Kasole Bwerere testified that he has taken Ssenfuka’s concoction for a year and feels much better and relieved since before he had travelled to India and Nairobi seeking care for Prostate Cancer but didn’t get any significant improvement.
Now, he says an MRI scan done recently showed his tumours were shrinking and his energy is now restored.
While still in parliament he said, they had discussions on proposals that herbal medicine like Ssenfuka’s be regulated and recognized specifying centres where people could find such care. He notes though ever since he left parliament, he hasn’t heard anything more about the proposal.
For now, however, while Ssenfuka’s herbal medicines have received several endorsements by users, they are only being used on a community medicine basis as approvals and tests for mass use by the National Drug Authority are yet to be done. The herbalist is only preparing for clinical trials to test the efficacy of the medicine in humans since animal studies have proved it to have curative properties.
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