The World Health Organization and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have launched an effort to explore the role of traditional medicine in the coronavirus pandemic. The new advisory panel will support countries in clinical trials, other research and development of traditional therapies as the pandemic now spreads rapidly in parts of Africa.

Confirmed cases on the continent have nearly reached 750,000, more than half of them in South Africa. A WHO statement says traditional medicine “has many benefits” and the continent has a long history of its use.

WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti says the research “must be grounded in science.” Several countries showed interest after Madagascar’s president promoted a local herbal concoction as part of the island nation’s pandemic response..