By Moji Danisa Ewu
Ewu is a small sleepy town in Edo State, located at Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State.
Atop a hill, almost overlooking the entire town is a monastery housing Monks of the order of St Benedict. The Ewu Monastery established by Dom Augustine O’Sullivan in 1979 has been put on the map by a priest of the Beneditine Order, known as Father Anslem Adodo.
Anslem Adodo who was ordained a monk in 1979 is the founder and Director of Nigeria’s foremost herbal research Institute, the Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories, popularly called Paxherbals.
It is this herbal laboratory that is making Nigerians excited at the moment.
An advocate of African Herbal medicine research, Adodo took to his Facebook page, (Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratory) on the 29th of April, 2020 to reveal Paxherbals research works on COVID19 with claims of finding a cure. This revelation attracted a lot of comments with many expressing optimism for the new drug.
The herbal remedy which the monks call Pax CVD PLUS, Father Adodo reveals in his post titled: “About the Cure for COVID19″, contains herbs and active phytoconstituents with documented scientific evidence based on clinical reports of their efficacy and safety.
Fr. Anselm stated further that plant-based drugs may be the best approach for the Coronavirus disease for Africa because the drugs are easily produced, stored and distributed and can be handled by medical and non medical personnel as they pose low contamination risk.
CVD PLUS” he caims, was developed solely for the treatment of the Coronavirus. The constituents are antiviral and immunodulatory agents which help to stimulate antibodies”.
From his statement, Fr. Anslem may have worked with some other scientists on the production of the drug as he expressed gratitude to the
head of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Professor Tunde Salako and the Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Catherine Adeyeye for their interest, support and encouragement in the course of the research.
He also revealed that the research is a joint effort of experts from two notable Federal Universities—University of Lagos and University of Benin, a tertiary health institution—Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State and experts sent by Prof. Tunde Salako and Prof. Catherine Adeyeye.
What may really be the most exciting revelation by Fr. Adodo is the assurance given to the public that: “NAFDAC is ready to speed up approval of the CVD Plus”.