/ 12 October 1999

AFRICAN POTATO GENERATING CONCERN

ROSE Zulu, owner of Lusaka’s Return to Eden herbal clinic, is concerned about the fuss that the African Potato, a tuber believed to control HIV/AIDS symptoms, has generated among Zambians. “It’s being sold by people who don’t know how to prepare it,” she says, adding: “People are taking it without proper instructions.” According to Zulu, who was last year sponsored by USAID to go to the USA to further her studies, there are several species of the African Potato and if the wrong tuber is consumed it can lead to serious complications. She says only two species of the potato, the yellow and white tubers, should be consumed. Since the discovery of the African Potato in Mpika recently, hundreds of town dwellers have been flocking to the area and buying it in bulk for re-sale. With HIV/AIDS infections estimated at two in every three persons, the African Potato has found a ready market in Zambia.