The Centre of Awareness (COA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and a medicine manufacturing firm, has dismissed claims that it advertises and promotes its COA FS food supplement as a cure for HIV and AIDS.

According to the centre, the product is registered with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) as a food supplement that boosts the immune system and not a therapy for HIV and AIDS or a replacement for anti-retroviral drugs (ARTs).

It has, therefore, cautioned the public to desist from spreading false information about the centre and its products.

Reactions

A few months ago, the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (ERCC) and the Regional AIDS Committee ordered the COA to halt all adverts in the media about the supplement being a substitute for ARTs.

At a press conference in Accra yesterday, however, the Executive President of the centre, Dr Samuel Ato Duncan, said the company had not run any adverts to that effect.

There is only one advertisement approved by the FDA, which is played on two programmes; namely, The Miser shown on GTV and the R&L Show on Joy Prime TV, featuring Kwame Djokoto, an actor, and a lady.

The COA FS is described only as an immune booster and not a cure for HIV and AIDS in that advertisement. So it is wrong for anyone or an institution to allude that the centre has put out adverts to deceive the public, he said.

Dr Ducan said he believed some people were out to tarnish the hard-earned image of the company, but that would not wash since the product had been globally accepted.

The centre also gave opportunities to some users of COA FS, including rapper OJ Blaq, to give testimonies about how it had improved their general wellbeing since they started using it.

About COA FS

COA FS is a plant extract which supports the immune system to fight chronic diseases such as HIV and AIDS, hepatitis, liver disorders, cancers, hypertension, diabetes, and other blood-related diseases.

It has been scientifically tested by the Centre for Plant Medicine at Akuapem Mampong and the Nugochi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Legon, as well as other international bodies as an immune booster.

Though Dr Duncan emphasised that the COA FS was not a remedy for HIV and AIDS, it was likely that due to its efficacy, some dealers and suppliers of the food supplement were misinforming the public in that regard.

Aims of the centre

Dr Duncan reaffirmed the centres resolve to produce medicines that would help to treat diseases and ailments.

One of the aims of the centre is to research and develop medicines that can treat diseases that affect the wellbeing of humanity, he said.

Dr Duncan also cautioned the public not to rely on chemical-based food supplements as that could be harmful to ones health, the reason for which we developed the COA FS.

He stated that the product was already available in countries such as Germany, United Kingdom,South Africa, Sierra Leone, Canada, the United States, Spain and Belgium.

We, therefore, urge the general public, especially our clients, to disregard the erroneous impression being created by some people that the product is not safe and should not be taken by anybody, he added.

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Ghana news: Centre of Awareness clears air about food supplement ... - Graphic Online