WHO backs production in Tanzania of indigenous medicine to cure malaria

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today it plans to provide technical support to Tanzania for the commercial production of a plant-based medicine reputed to have the highest cure rate for malaria, with the hope of making the drug affordable to those in dire need.

Artemisia annua - a medicinal plant of Chinese origin - flourishes in Tanzania where it is grown in the southern and northern highlands. WHO said the raw plant is exported to Europe for processing into anti-malarial medicines, which are then imported by African countries and sold at a cost far beyond the means of those in need.

"We are certainly excited by the prospects (for commercial production and marketing in Africa) of this medicine because it will be more affordable to those who need it the most," WHO Regional Director Ebrahim Samba said of the agency's efforts to help fight the disease that kills a million people worldwide every year, 90 per cent of them in Africa.

Local production of the medicine could mean a drop from the current $6 to $7 per dose to a more affordable $2 per dose, saving the many lives lost to malaria. WHO said that most of those killed are children – one African child out of every five succumbs to the illness before the age of five. WHO’s provision of process technology for local production in Tanzania will help prevent such tragic loses.

"We will also provide the country with pure arteminisinin (the active medicine in the medicinal plant) and dihydro-artemisinin to serve as reference substances so as to guarantee the quality of local production," Dr. Samba said, elaborating on the nature of assistance the agency will be giving. He added that the agency would also assist with the necessary monitoring, "to ensure the development of the requisite process technology locally."

Experts from the WHO regional office, after a recent field visit to Tanzania, concluded that the production of the medicine locally was a viable option, particularly given the fact that the indigenous variety of Artemisia annua was 10 to 15 times more potent than the varieties found in China and Thailand.

To support WHO's efforts, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will provide $6.5 million over five years to the agency to facilitate the strengthening of traditional health systems for malaria control and prevention in Africa.