Malawi on brink of HIV cure

Owner, government locked horns on patenting

Only WHO can certify it – Shawa

Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh, Mchape and a thousand other traditional doctors have claimed that they can cure HIV but they ended up drawing public wrath, the story of one woman however is likely to be a big topic on the tables of those who say HIV has no cure because her herb can actually make HIV disappear.

Gloria Jeremiah has not advertised her herb, she has tried to engage government to have the drug certified so that Malawians with HIV can get cured but for some reasons nothing has happened since 2009 when the authorities were approached about this herb. The herb was discovered in 2007 and she verified it in 2008.

"Preliminary analysis was done at Chancellor College's Chemistry department under
Professor Saka with the consent of the Office of the President and Cabinet, Nutrition, HIV and AIDS .The herb was also given to Malawi Pharmacy, Medicines and Poisons Board for analysis. Preliminary results found three major moieties (parts or functional groups of a molecule) in the powder which need to be further identified," said Jeremiah in an interview.

Jeremiah - Pioneering the herb

Jeremiah said things got tricky when some authorities demanded that she reveal the name of the tree from which she gets the powder so that it can be fully analyzed before it can get certified and patented.

Permanent Secretary on HIV and AIDS in the Office of President and Cabinet Dr Mary Shawa admitted taking the medicine to the Poisons Board and said it is necessary for the tree to be made known to government before it can be certified.

"When such discoveries are made they have to go through several stages; we need to name it as a country, the next stage is to subject it to testing and processes before we can send it to World Health Organization which is the only body that can certify it," said Shawa.

Shawa said that the drug is actually one of the priorities on her desk and that she actually called Jeremiah to talk about the issue, she however said the deal hit rock bottom when it came to the legal part where Jeremiah insisted on patenting first before the tree could be revealed.

"Once the name of the tree is revealed, we could lose our intellectual rights and it’s why we insist on patenting first before anything like revealing the tree can happen," said Jeremiah

Jeremiah has since engaged a Malawian and foreign doctor to help her with the patenting process. Away from the legal hustles, the concoction continues to sell in silence. Many people that get "cured" fail to come out for fear of discrimination. News of the herb is spread by word of mouth.

"I have seen a few people who used the herb and their problems and symptoms disappeared, mind you am not saying cured, it disappeared and hid the HIV," Said Shawa.

Shawa said it’s difficult to say for certain that one is cured of HIV because even a prolonged intake of the ARV's can hide the virus; she warned those taking the herb to continue taking their ARVs.

Asked if she knew that the delay in making the herb certified means that many people that could have gotten cured are dying, Shawa said she is aware and said it’s why the drug is on her priority list.

"We want the herb, but the owner is uncomfortable with property rights, that’s where we stalemated,” said Shawa.

The herb which is known as "Garani MW 1" was discovered by a man from  Lilongwe who was shown the herb in a dream in 2007.He was HIV positive and was on ARVs from 2005 up to 2007. He got 'cured' after taking the medicine. The man has been tested several times for HIV and is still HIV negative.

The Herb in its Packed and Powder Form

The man, after being rebuffed by some authorities, contacted Jeremiah who works at a Health Office in Lilongwe and has pioneered the medicine since. The man chooses to remain out of the limelight but if the herb is patented, he is and will remain the owner.

 Jeremiah challenges any authority to bring an HIV subject for testing and says the herb doesn’t clash with other medication and that the
only side effect associated with the herb is an increase in appetite levels.

"I delayed coming open about the herb because I wanted to have ' tangible scientific evidence ' and  I was afraid that it could affect my studies but since I am finishing my masters this year, I feel this is the time," said Jeremiah who is also an alumni of The Malawi Polytechnic, Environmental Health graduate.

The full course of the medicine is three teaspoons of the powder taken over a period of 3 days repeated after two weeks form the same pack.  The herb which is in powder form is supposed to be put in porridge without sugar or salt. The herb is sold at K4000 a pack and this is all it takes to
 make the HIV disappear within or even before 18 months.

Jeremiah Shows her med to the Camera

For independent proof one retired senior government official speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that he took the concoction three years ago and has been HIV free since.

“Its contingent but it works, I am living proof I quit taking my ARV’s over two years ago. I think if you believe in this medicine, it works...but don’t mention my name, ay?” Said the source.

A Turkish Doctor (Not real nationality) is also in the country to help with the patenting and from the trials she conducted; she expressed hope but said there is a long way to calling it an absolute cure. She gave the medicine to 18 HIV positive people and from the preliminary results released last week 10 tested HIV negative the others are still under observation and treatment.

“There scientific evidence that the viral load is reduced drastically especially during the first three months after taking the herb. A number of patients that took the herb last year have viral loads below 50 copies per Millilitre of blood, this is great because such people are leading a normal life and doing their usual businesses,” she said.

She said to determine if the person is completely free of HIV,, there is need to use the DNA screening method. She also was pessimistic about WHO accepting her results because “so far regarding the ‘HIV end game’ the results are inconclusive,” she said.

“I am mindful however that many lives could be saved right now by this herb with the current scientific data we have.” 

It will take months before the herb can be patented, and even years before it can be certified, meanwhile people are out there dying.