‘Miracle remedies’ can leave us all not so healthy

Faith healers and quacks peddle cures for Covid-19, jeopardising collective effort to contain pandemic

The world’s top scientists and medical practitioners may still be coming to grips with the novel coronavirus, but in Pakistan and several other nations faith healers, quacks and proponents of ‘traditional medicine’ are already peddling cures. With no vaccine yet in sight and authorities turning a blind eye, thousands of people have been turning to these dubious remedies in a bid to either pre-empt or heal from Covid-19.

The risk they pose, however, extends far beyond the individuals who seek these miracle cures. With the second wave of coronavirus now upon us and precaution fatigue setting in, the false sense of security these alternative ‘remedies’ can create jeopardises our entire collective effort to contain the pandemic.

Pigeon gizzards and ‘spiritual’ cures

“Treating coronavirus is so simple and reasonable,” claimed one self-fashioned spiritual healer named Moulana Shabbir Ahmed Chisti. “Take a few pigeon gizzards. Boil them and use them twice a day. Take some ginger-root and lemon tea, and fresh mint along with it, and the virus will be defeated in no time,” he said sharing just one in a long list of dubious cures proliferating in the country.

At the height of the first wave of the pandemic in Pakistan, many citizens found themselves obsessed with another miracle cure in the form of the Sana Makki herb. In the time since, several other competitors – from oiled betel leaves and neem leaves to bitter gourd juice and garlic – now find themselves entering popular imagination. No hard science, as yet, backs any of the curing properties proponents claim the items possess.

“Covid-19 is just like a seasonal flu,” claimed hakeem Abdul Rehman on his YouTube channel. His advice for those who catch it? “Just gargle with salt water, drink hot water and take warm baths if possible.”

Sharafat Ali, another self proclaimed spiritual healer and doctor with a YouTube channel, claimed he had discovered a ‘spiritual cure’ for the virus the healthcare fraternity is still in the process of understanding.

“This disease is a consequence of sin. Those who cross the limits proscribed by Islam are susceptible to this virus,” he claimed.

In Mirpurkhas, one self-proclaimed healer with a social media following has been claiming he has cured as many as a hundred Covid-19 patients. “It is not me but the power of the Holy Quran that heals patients,” said Engineer Shoukat Hayat Qaimkhani. “Through the spiritual power of ‘dam’, I can heal coronavirus patients over the telephone as well,” he claimed. He went as far as urging the prime minister to ‘acknowledge and promote his skill’.

Lingering superstition

It is easy for those who think they know better to make fun off those who fall prey to quacks and faith healers. That is what many in Pakistan especially did when news of some in India turning to cow urine to cure Covid-19 was first reported.

If the pandemic, however, has revealed anything, it is just how dependent on each other all of humanity is when it comes to matters of health. With more than 39.3 million cases and 1.1 million deaths worldwide and conspiracy theories about Covid-19 gaining ever more traction, experts say battling superstition and misinformation needs to be a collective coordinated effort.

“Most people, both in Pakistan and elsewhere, still believe Covid-19 is a conspiracy to promote a certain global agenda and that even doctors are part of it,” said infectious disease expert Dr Tamkinat Mansoor. “Of the critical cases of Covid-19 I’ve dealt with, dozens involved patients who turned to some form of alternative treatment before coming to us,” she revealed. “It was only when their condition worsened and the false sense of security they had shattered that they turned to us.” She urged concerned authorities to immediately take notice of the problem and to crack down on quacks and healers who play with the lives of both those who turn to them and the rest of us.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Dr Ameer Abro who teaches sociology at Sindh University Jamshoro stressed there was a dire need to transform the way most people in Pakistan and other developing countries think and live. “Superstitions and myths persist in countries like ours due to lack of quality education and knowledge of the scientific method,” he said. “This is something we need to change immediately, not just to overcome this pandemic.”

In 2014, the Sindh Assembly did agree to form a Sindh Healthcare Commission to both improve healthcare in the province and to put an end to quackery and dubious health practices. However, in the six years since, the commission has failed to live up to its promise and achieve desired results.

When contacted, a senior official who works for the commission even said it was “it is not the commission’s job to take action against hakeems and aamils.” “We are only tasked with monitoring and regulating the quality and standard of healthcare services offered by the government,” he added, while speaking on condition of anonymity.