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Nigerian Government Suspends Use Of Local AIDS 'Vaccines' LAGOS (AFP) - Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo has ordered the immediate suspension of all locally produced vaccines and drugs claiming to prevent or cure HIV/AIDS, a newspaper reported this week. "President Olusegun Obasanjo has directed the immediate suspension of all drugs and vaccines reportedly discovered by Nigerians said to prevent or cure HIV/AIDS in the country," Health Minister Tim Menakaya told the pro-government Daily Times paper. The suspension order came on the heels of a preliminary report by a 15-member government committee set up to evaluate the claims, in particular one by a Nigerian doctor named Jeremiah Abalaka, who says he has found a cure for the scourge. Since last year Abalaka has charged hundreds of patients $250 a shot for five weekly doses of a treatment he claims is a vaccine. The suspension is to be in effect "until such a time as proper claims are approved and applied to the products," the health minister said. "If the (final) report comes out and gives credence to any of the claims, this will be one of the greatest blessings to Nigeria," Menakaya said. Abalaka's work was rubbished late last month by the nation's highest scientific body. The Nigerian Academy of Sciences said Abalaka's treatment had not been scientifically tested and should not have been sold to an unsuspecting public. "Dr. Abalaka has not subjected his 'vaccines' to any objective immunological or other scientific evaluations," the academy said. But the Nigerian army has defended the controversial doctor. The head of the army medical corps, General A. Adefolalu, said Abalaka's "vaccine" had worked in 90% of cases. "We got the vaccine from Abalaka and used it on 30 soldiers. About 90% of them got better. They are still alive and well," Adefolalu said. Hundreds of people with HIV/AIDS have flocked to Abalaka's clinic outside the capital Abuja seeking a cure. Currently around 100 doctors and others in Nigeria have claimed to have found a cure for HIV/AIDS. The committee set up to evaluate claims was inaugurated in late June by Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and is chaired by Professor Idris Mohammed, an immunologist from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital
Newswires |
