LocationsMaisha: An Indigenous Malaria Medication Developed by Makerere Students
August 29, 2024
Young ladies holding the Maisha syrup at a local health care facility
According to the 2022 Global Malarial Report by the World Health Organization (WHO), Uganda was reported with the world's highest malaria incidence rate of 478 cases per 1,000 population per year. It is also the leading cause of sickness and death in Uganda and is responsible for up to 40 percent of all outpatient visits, 25 percent of hospital admissions, and 14 percent of all hospital deaths. Malaria is caused by a parasite belonging to the Plasmodium family. The parasite can be spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes. The Plasmodium Falciparum type is mainly found in Africa and is a common cause of complicated and fatal malaria worldwide.
Joel Felix Ochom a third-year pharmacy student at Makerere University, narrowly survived becoming a malaria-death statistic at the age of 14. This experience sparked his passion to finding a permanent cure for the malaria disease. After joining Makerere University to pursue a Bachelor of Pharmacy, Joel convinced his friends, Valentine Muhoozi, Jimmy Kabuna, Robert Zziwa and Rita Ainembabazi formed a team to research on the different options of drugs for treating malaria.
Joel Felix Ochom (centre in white) takes a photo with visiting patients at a local health care facility
The Malaria Drug Research
The team, led by Joel Felix Ochom, discovered that one of the reasons for increased Malaria death cases in Uganda was the multi-drug resistance to malaria pathogens, this is in addition to poor diagnosis and late treatment of patients.
“I shared with my team that when I was younger, I got sick with malaria, my parents would administer a bitter local herb to me, and it cured me.” Joel narrated, inspired by this, the team decided to research more on this local herb and explore options of making it a syrup, more palatable for human use but most importantly, a cure to the malaria disease.
While making the medicine mix, the pharmacy lab lacked some of the necessary equipment, so they visited the Makerere University Innovation Pod (Mak-UniPod) where they had access to equipment like the industrial mixer and were able to successfully make their syrup concoctions.
The team then conducted preclinical tests of the syrup on animals at the Central Laboratory Animal Research Facility at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) Makerere University. They are further conducting tests from the Clinical Trial of Natural Therapeutics Uganda (CoNAT) to check for any side effects caused by the drug.
The team then sought permission to administer the Maisha malaria drug in the paediatrics ward of the Mulago National Referral Hospital. When they administered the drug to a child, he got cured of malaria. This inspired them to name their drug Maisha. The name of the drug is a Kiswahili word Maisha which means “alive” or “prosperous life.” Indeed, this was confirmed by more testimonials from people who got healed after taking the drug.
Close up image of the indigenous Maisha syrup medication
Maisha malaria drug commercialization
After successfully completing the tests, the team needed guidance on how to have their innovation scaled to commercialization. They utilized the Mak-UniPod Knowledge Transfer office to have the Maisha malaria drug patented and are currently in the process of registering a pharmaceutical company named ProPhyto Pharma Uganda Ltd by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau as a herbal drug. The team is now in the final steps of acquiring the National Drug Authority certification.
Universities are havens of knowledge and sources of innovations, with the potential to transform nations. As the Accelerator Lab team, supporting such innovators does not only improve their livelihoods but also helps us to learn and map solutions that contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for scaling. This is the reason for establishing a University Innovation Pod (UniPod), to support and nurture such innovations. This innovation was selected by the Hult Prize, an initiative which encourages young people to solve the world’s most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship. Here is the video about this innovation.
Joel Felix Ochom (second left) and his research team at Makerere University
By Hadijah Nabbale Head of Solutions Mapping, Berna Mugema Head of Experimentation and Nathan Tumuhamye