active ingredient to fight malaria has gained ground in Kenya and
Tanzania where a multi-billion processing plant has been set up to
turn the raw herb into the Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies
(ACTs), the new malaria drug that is now on the WHO's Essential
Medicines list.
The herb known as Artemisia is native to Asia with wild populations
occurring in China and Vietnam but it became naturalised in many
countries in the 1990’s. In Africa, Artemisia has been introduced for
cultivation to Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda
and Zambia - all in high-altitude regions and regions with a
pronounced cool period.
Artemisia can grow almost anywhere in the world, in every kitchen
garden, in every field, appearing as an inconspicuous mugwort plant.
Yet its inner substance, artemisinin, is highly potent and effective,
according to the international aid organization, "Doctors Without
Borders", which found that the first dose destroyed 90 per cent of the
agents that cause malaria.
The simplest way to take advantage of its curing properties is through
herbal tea made from the plant, which is 80 per cent effective in
treating malaria, according to the research by Doctors Without
Borders, but its efficacy rises to 90 per cent when combined with
other anti malaria drugs.
Yet with only a few international pharmaceutical companies producing
Artemisinin-based malaria medicines, access to these highly effective
medicines for malaria patients is not adequately secured in most
African countries. A problem during production is the availability of
the agent Artesunate, which has to be bought at high prices, mostly
from Asia, with Kenya previously producing the plant without the
technology to extract the ingredients.
But various international companies have now set up shop to connect
farmers with multinational contracts that have seen local farmers
abandoning crops they lived with for decades in favour of cultivating
the herb.
Action Medeor one of the largest medical aid organisations in Europe
is involved in a project that supports the local cultivation of the
plant in East Africa. Once the farmers harvest the leaves they dry
them, and the dried leaves are weighed by the company, which ferries
them to the factory for extraction. Farmers are paid per kilo of dried
leaves. The extraction, which is the isolation of the substance
Artemisinin from the Artimisia-leaves, takes place in a facility of
the cooperation partner Advanced Bioextracts (ABE Ltd.) situated in
Athi River. The multi-million dollar processing plant produces
Artemisinin for the global market, including quantities which are sold
under contract to the international pharmaceutical company Novartis, a
global leader in pharmaceuticals.
The ultimate goal of ABE and Action Medeor has been to optimise the
extraction process and develop a more effective and cost-efficient
method for the conversion of Artemisinin to the active ingredients in
the anti malarial drugs. The extraction also allows local
drug-producers to get the precursors for their medicines.
Botanical Extracts EPZ Limited (BEEPZ), another company primarily
involved in the production of low cost, pharmaceutical grade
artemisinin has been in the country for 12 years. From the initial
three to four farmers contracted by BEEPZ to plant about 40ha in 2002
the number has shot up to 4,000 smallholder farmers growing some
4,000ha of the cash crop.
BEEPZ pays between Sh50,000 and Sh60,000 per tonne of dry leaf to
smallholder farmers. One hectare can bring in up to 2T of dry leaves
and is usually cultivated without the use of much fertiliser or pest
problems. In 2010, BEEPZ paid out Sh153m to farmers.
“The greatest concern when we first started was how we would maintain
the supply. However, we have successfully managed to keep an all year
round supply and the pay by BEEPZ has equally been impressive we
cannot complain. And with the demand now ballooning due to the
knowledge of the importance of the herb by even more international
organisations, we expect more demand, which means clearing more land,”
said Lilian Ndere, one of the suppliers of the leaves who in October
2011 managed to deliver 13 tonnes of dried leaves.
The news of the herb’s take-off as a crop in Kenya and Tanzania comes
beside a recently released report by the World Health Organisation
showing that 90 per cent of all malaria-related deaths occur in
Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the report, co-authored by the United
Nations Children’s Fund, the knock-on effects on a country's economy
are huge. The report estimated that malaria costs $12bn a year in
lost GDP and eats up 25 per cent of household incomes. “In effect,
malaria tightens the shackles of poverty on families and nations,”
read part of the report.
The Kenyan government introduced the WHO-recommended artemisinin based
combination therapy (ACT) of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for
uncomplicated malaria treatment in 2006, after the malaria parasite
was found to have developed resistance to the commonly used
sulphur-based drugs. The government banned the sale of the sulphur
based drugs and has now gone further to give the ACT free of charge in
government hospitals and reduce the prices in chemists from the
initial Sh250 to only Sh40 to encourage uptake.
Written By Bob Koigi for African Laughter
- 
