Uganda’s herbs show promising results in treating acute respiratory illnesses

10 February 2025, 1:14 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

Minister of science, technology and innovation, Hon. Monica Musenero, has confirmed that the a clinical trial conducted in Uganda by the Makerere University Lung Institute on two locally made herbal medicines have demonstrated that they are safe and effective in treating acute respiratory illnesses. “This is a major breakthrough for thousands of people in our country who suffer from obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, influenza and pneumonia particularly in rural areas.” Musenero said.

According to the ministry, acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are among the five most common causes of morbidity and mortality globally, accounting for approximately 3.9 million deaths annually. In Uganda, ARTIs have remained the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under the age of 5 years, accounting for about 9% of the deaths and sickness. More than 14 million cases are reported annually in Uganda, where outpatients spend Uganda Shillings 12,000/= and inpatients spend, Uganda Shillings 600,000/=, per episode of treatment.

The findings states that patients who received the drugs alongside standard of care experienced faster symptom resolution, occurring on average in 4 days, compared to 6 days for those on standard of care alone. The likelihood of resolving key symptoms such as cough, sore throat and fever was generally higher in participants who were on one of the herbal drugs. Both drugs demonstrated strong antiviral effects during laboratory studies. With the few participants that were positive for one of the viruses, there was evidence that both herbal medicine cleared the virus faster than the standard of care. Both herbal medicines demonstrated a good safety profile with no side effects in the majority of the participants.

The study concluded that both herbal products are effective in treating acute respiratory illnesses, offering faster symptom resolution and have a favourable safety profile. The findings also support advancing these medicines for further assessment necessary for certificate by the National Drug Authority. The study highlights the success of framework that allows for rapid evaluation of multiple therapeutic products which can be applied to other resources limited settings. The executive director of Kaziire products, Edward Kaziire has said that they are happy with the findings. He also emphasized that herbal medicines are not in any way related to shrine stuffs. They are going to start exporting their products to various Countries.