Cure asthma on Fridays and Saturdays

The smallest country in Africa is this morning playing host to one of the longest queues on the continent, as hundreds of people line up for miracle cures for asthma and Aids, promised by the Gambian President.

Scientists have reacted with horror to a claim by President Yahya Jammeh that he can cure asthma on Fridays and Saturdays and HIV/Aids on Mondays and Thursdays. All patients need is a referral from a doctor and the willingness to queue up at State House in the capital, Banjul.

"I'm astonished. The danger of a president saying this is shocking," said South African HIV specialist Jerry Coovadia, who heads the HIV research team at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.

Professor Coovadia is one of the most vociferous critics of the South African government's resistance to rolling out antiretroviral drugs. After pressure from him and other scientists the government last year withdrew its advice that a diet of garlic, beetroot and olive oil could help people infected with HIV.

The rush for Mr Jammeh's alleged cure began on 18 January after the west African country's state television service devoted most of its evening news to it. The President, who believes he has mystic powers, was seen laying his hands on the heads of patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Banjul. Since then, Mr Jammeh has addressed diplomats and the broadcaster has shown interviews with alleged patients who say they are feeling better and putting on weight.