LA PAZ (Sputnik) – Bolivian President Luis Arce said his government will promote the use of traditional medicine to strengthen the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on the experience of farmers producing herbal teas, syrups and ointments. native.
“I asked the deputy minister of communication to disseminate this, so that Bolivians have access to information about all the products we have and can deal with this type of epidemic,” Arce said at an event at the presidential headquarters.
The president made the announcement in front of representatives of a number of associations and micro-companies that produce traditional remedies, which will hold a traveling fair across the country starting next week, in support of the official plan to combat the pandemic.
Maple regretted that The temporary government of Jeanine ÁñezIn whose administration Bolivia suffered its first wave of infections with the new coronavirus last year, it “disqualified” traditional medicine based on “products used ancestral to prevent and combat many diseases.”
The producers showed Arce, in the act broadcast on state television, various syrups, tonics, creams, infusions and food bars made from wild vegetables such as wira wira, matico, molle, cinchona, maca, among others.
The producers also presented infusions containing eucalyptus, a tree that, although not native to America, is widely used in the treatment of respiratory diseases.
Natalia Gumiel, representative of “organic” producers, said that in recent months and despite the lack of government recognition, traditional medicines have been used extensively as a prevention and treatment of COVID-19, especially in the poorest sections of the population.
“In the field, these traditional medicines have been almost the only way to combat the pandemic and have been very effective,” he said, while several manufacturers reported several cases of total cure of COVID-19 with treatments based on native plants.
Gumiel added that other advantages of the products presented were the low price and their processing with quality and hygiene standards that facilitated their marketing.
Arce promised “full support and commitment” not only to promote the immediate use of these products, but also to improve and increase their production.
The natural anti-covid products, which until now were accessible only on a few artisan markets, will be sold starting next week in the supermarket chain of the state food company EMAPA, announced the Minister of Productive Development, Néstor Huanca.
At the same time, the government is implementing projects to strengthen hospital infrastructure and is launching a plan for the massive detection of COVID-19 infections, which will be followed by a vaccination campaign that will start with Sputnik V developed in Russia.
Bolivia has bought 5.2 million doses of Sputnik V, of which about 6,000 will arrive this month for administration to medical staff, according to an official announcement.