A Neglected Historio-Therapuetic Response to Covid19 Pandemic: African Ebers Papyrus Revisited

Colonialism has grave consequence on Africa given the western values it installed and the 

dislodging of African values; if not, how could one explain decades of importation of 

vaccines for treatment of the bulk of African population without looking inward to homegrown remedies. This is what fires the attempt to explore the relevance of Ebers Papyrus that 

appeared to have been undermined in Africa’s response to Covid-19 pandemic. The paper 

finds that Ebers Papyrus is one of the oldest medical documents developed by the Egyptians 

dating to about 1500 BCE. It has over seven hundred prescriptions and remedies for various 

ailments. Most of the known symptoms of Covid-19 pandemic are sufficiently captured in the 

Ebers Papyrus. The therapeutic significance of the Papyrus appears to have been undermined

since the outbreak of the pandemic probably because of colonial disorientation and 

disarticulation. Against this background, it makes case for indigenous medicines in times of 

epidemics breakouts since foreign drugs and vaccines are not better than African products. It 

further finds that no single discipline has answers to societal challenge that appears cumulus

and multi-dimensional in nature. Thus, scholars and scientists across disciplinary 

backgrounds should step forward in the curious search for solution to Covid-19 within the 

context of African medicines. The paper concludes that African governments, businessmen 

and well wishers should join hands and support researches for further investigation of 

prescriptions of the famous Ebers papyrus. This might be what the Madagascar did that was 

to lead to its claim discovery of Covid-19 pandemic therapy. 

Keywords: Ebers Papyrus, Therapeutic, Covid-19, Corona virus, Pandemic