US President Donald Trump says he's taking it to ward offer the coronavirus. Brazilian President Jair Bolosonaro says Covid-19 is just a "little flu" and touts hydroxychloroquine for treatment.
The WHO says it's useless and can be dangerous. On Monday it said its use should be suspended until further notice.
Heeding the WHO, Kenya will suspend plans to treat Covid-19 patients with the controversial antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine because early research shows it increases the risk of death.
The country is now stuck with the 379,000 tablets imported from India late last month.
WHO experts made the decision after The Lancet journal on Friday published study results showing hydroxychloroquine and its older version, chloroquine, increase the risk of Covid-19 patients dying.
Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health Rashid Aman said the country had not begun prescribing the two drugs and will comply with the WHO directive.
"These trials have not yet kicked off in Kenya because we have a process and a procedure of approving clinical trials," he said.
The Lancet study analysed the results of more than 96,000 patients across the world who were taking hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine between December 20 and April 14.
One in six of those taking one of the drugs died, while the death rate among patients not taking any of the drugs was one in 11.
The drugs are fairly safe for patients being treated for arthritis or malaria, but useless and harmful for Covid-19.
"We found no evidence of the benefit of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine," the authors said in the paper.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference on Monday afternoon they have agreed on a suspension of hydroxychloroquine within the Solidarity Trial.
Solidarity Trial is a WHO-led study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of four drugs and drug combinations against Covid-19 in 35 countries including Kenya.
"The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the safety data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board," Dr Tedros said.
Acting director general of Health Dr Patrick Amoth said Kenya will begin trials of the other drugs in the study - Remdesivir, Lopinavir plus Ritonavir, and Interferon-beta.
In Kenya, the trial is open to consenting adults above 18 years sick with Covid-19.
Each patient will receive one of the treatments. The patients will be followed up for the entire length of their hospital stay.
India had banned exports of Hydroxychloroquine after US President Trump widely proclaimed it as a Covid-19 cure.
“India has allowed one-time export of prohibited Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate USP 200 mg (379,000 tablets) to Kenya to support the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Indian High Commission said on April 29.
By Monday, Kenya had registered 1,286 Covid-19 cases, 392 recoveries and 52 deaths.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya backed the WHO but urged Kenyans to be more proactive in testing for Non-Communicable Diseases.
"Sometimes it's not Covid-19 that's killing people, but NCDs that people have and they did not know," Dr Louis Machogu, the PSK president, said.
"Also, when people go to hospital let them be open about other drugs they're taking."
(Edited by V. Graham)
