Kanilai, the home of the Gambian leader, was on Sunday host of yet another groundbreaking event in the history of traditional medicine when 13 former HIV/Aids patients were discharged.

The patients, Ousman Sowe, Fatou Fadera, Fatou Kaw, Dado Jawo, Sulayman Sanyang, Kebba Saidy, Adama Sanneh, Yafai Touray, Maimuna Sanneh, Tida Gibba, Aja Touray, Demba Bah and Adama, a two-year-old boy had undergone President Jammeh’s HIV/Aids treatment. A series of medical and laboratory investigations were conducted on them both in Senegal and Morocco and the virus was found to be undetectable in their blood samples. The ceremony which attracted celebrated medical doctors was attended by hundreds of people.

In his remarks, the Gambian leader, President Yahya Jammeh, said when the patients were first seen their body condition was such that it was difficult for him to lay hand on them. “I did receive complaints from my well-wishers not to involve myself in the treatment but instead, let the doctors and nurses take care of the situation. I made it very clear to them that I had declared to the whole world that I can cure HIV/Aids and to fear to administer the treatment, would mean I cannot cure it. In the fight against HIV/Aids, I have exposed the hypocrisy and the lip service that the western world is putting into it.”

The Gambian leader added that he will continue his crusade to eradicate HIV/Aids in The Gambia and in Africa. “You will be surprised to know that the WHO and UNAIDS are giving endless problems to laboratories that tested the blood samples of our patients. Now, they want to know where next we are to test our blood samples so that they can go and talk to that country so as not to accept blood samples from us. The result of my treatment cannot be scientifically disputed.  I could have discharged the first batch a long time ago, but the Western world said anybody who is on ARV and stop taking it will die within three months. Before the patients started taking my treatment, I told them to stop taking ARV. That is why I decided to keep them for 6 months, not just three months to tell them that they are lying.  I have been vindicated, but my treatment is not a guarantee against a re-infection”, he said.

President Jammeh added that during the course of the treatment session, 3 patients had been expelled for not cooperating with the rules and regulations of the treatment.

For his part, Dr Tamsir Mbowe Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare said: “We will take on the international scientific community to vindicate President Jammeh’s claim”. He said President Jammeh will be hailed as a pioneer in the integration of traditional and modern medicine. “He is also an innovator in the treatment of HIV/Aids, asthma and diabetes. The President’s successful alternative strategy in treating HIV/Aids should be seen from the perspective of Yahya Jammeh, the triumphantly tried and tested herbalist, traditional healer, and humanist. In this capacity, the President Doctor Yahya Jammeh is an expression of the social capital we have developed in our traditional Gambian society to deal with challenges in disease control and curative treatment”, he stated.

Ousman Sowe, a former HIV/Aids patient, thanked President Jammeh for coming up with, for the first time in history, an effective cure for HIV/Aids.