Products From East Africa

1. Products From East Africa Presented by Joseph Bazambanza Artemisia Annua East Africa Ltd

2. Artemisia Annua East Africa Ltd(AAEA) Partnership network By building a partnership network, AAEA shall seek to make joint contributions to develop and promote personal, organizational and professional development in meeting identified needs of industry and the community.  AAEA shall also encourage its partners to engage in dialogue and action with other members of the network. Guidelines • AAEA shall collaborate with other partners to provide training for professional development, in an effort to increase consistency, avoid repetition and unnecessary competition, increase cost-effectiveness, provide networking opportunities. • AAEA shall seek to create linkages between local partners and organizations sharing similar purposes and mission, for the purpose of sharing information, strengthening institutional capacity, building alliances, and accessing resources. • AAEA shall engage local partners in joint and mutual planning and evaluation processes through which all parties collaboratively identify their own strengths, prioritize the areas in need of improvement, and create their own action plans to achieve the identified goals in a win-win situation. 

3. Contracting & Acquisition Coordination & Information Dissemination Management & Executive Reporting Feedback and Improvement Project Reviews & Audits Artemisia Annua East Africa Ltd Partnership Framework The key areas that we need to be established are: • A common set of objectives • A clearly defined nature of the relationship between the partners • A governance framework that defines roles and responsibilities • An approach to Stakeholder involvement • An approach for regular review • A set of guiding principles and guidelines AAEA ltd Services and Coordination

4. A story of A.annua in East Africa Charles Kiruthi proudly gazes over his crop. “I used to growfruits Andbeans here,” he says with a smile, “but I will get abetter return from thisplant. No pests attack it, and untilharvesting time it requires very little labour.” Kiruthi, who owns a 10-acre farm in Kiambu in Kenya’sCentral province, is one of hundreds of farmers across thecountry who Havebeen contracted to grow the Artemisiaannua plant. The plant has been grown on a small scale by privatecompanies Andresearch institutions in East Africa for over10 years, but Operationshave been scaled up rapidly since2004, in response to fears of aglobal shortage ofartemesinin. Source: www.IRINnews.org

5. Growers of A.annua plant in East Africa In East Africa, farmers are reported to be very interested in growing the newcash crop, especially because the coffee market is so slow. In Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda the project is beingspearheaded by East African Botanicals, which providesseedlings and supports both large- and small-scale farmers ina bid to rapidly increase the volume of plants. “We have been growing Artemisia annua here at the university since 2002,” said Fidensio Ndegwa, chief technician at theSchool of Health Sciences at Kenyatta University. “We have alsobeen working with local farmers to increase acreage – we have soldaround 10,000 seedlings. We have been researching the plant and itsproperties for over 10 years and have learned a great deal. We knowit contains very valuable ingredients, and yet we are unable to findanyone to sell it to. Source: www.IRINnews.org

6. Unrewarded efforts ofindividual growers While the benefits of the project are self-evident, there are worrying indications that the coordination of the partners involved in the vital crusade to boost the supply of artemisinin is somewhat lacking. Despite the clamour surrounding the shortage of the valuable plant, it seems that in some cases efforts to grow it are going unrewarded, and even unnoticed, by the major players in the fight against malaria. “There is a farmer in Thika [in Central province]who has 2,000 seedlings and around 65 kilogramsof leaf, but there isn’t a market for it,” Ndegwasaid, shaking his head. “It’s very confusing, as weknow there are people suffering all over Africa. Weknow this plant is the key, but it’s just going to waste.” Source: www.IRINnews.org

7. Whole-leaf A.annua-based drugs Further studies aim to characterise key constituents that contribute to the anti-malarial activity of A. annua, leading to a selection of appropriate varieties or hybrids based on the optimum constituents of artemesinin and other key compounds. Prof. Hassanali of ICIPE is hopeful that this will allow a detailed business plan for large-scale planting and commercial production to be put in place for further production of whole-leaf A. annua-based drugs. Source: ‘New Agriculturist’ online Based on article written by Naftali Kure

8. Whole leaf A.annua may provide an alternative solution Research on a drug based on the whole leaf of A. annua may provide an alternative solution. Scientists at ICIPE, collaborating with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the Natural Uwemba System for Health (NUSAG), a Tanzanian NGO, have been working to provide a cheaper yet efficacious malaria treatment. To make the whole-leaf drug, leaves are ground to a very fine powder and thoroughly mixed, which has proved effective in ensuring that each tablet has a standard dose of the drug. Source: ‘New Agriculturist’ online Based on article written by Naftali Kure

9. A proof-of-concept study, which commenced in June 2004 andended in February this year, has yieldedencouraging results.Clinical studies involving 48patients with uncomplicated malariahave shown thewhole-leaf drug to have impressive efficacy intreating the disease with no significant side effects. The source plants being used by the team are grown in Arusha, and, encouragingly for African farmers, have been shown to yield a higher concentration of artemisinin than Chinese plants. Ongoing research will hopefully discover how growing conditions affect concentration level. Source: ‘New Agriculturist’ online Based on article written by Naftali Kure Proof-of-concept study results

10. Extracted artemisinin from a Novartis partner Novartis partners with East AfricanBotanicals to expand cultivation and extraction of natural ingredient used inanti-malarialCoartem®Contracts Topurchase extracted artemisinin stimulatecultivation of more than 1,000 hectares ofArtemisia annua in Kenya,Tanzania andUganda. "Novartis has proven to be our most important partner as we move to large-scale production of artemisinin in East Africa," said PatrickHenfrey, CEO of Advanced Bio Extracts (ABE).   Themain operating entities of ABE areAfrican Artemisia (AA) operating inTanzania, East African Botanicals Kenyaand East African BotanicalsUganda.  "By placing firm orders for extractedartemisinin, providingfinancial support for infrastructure improvements, and Deliveringtechnical support and know- how, Novartis has made a majorcontribution tocreating a sustainable market for this key natural ingredient.“ Source: Novartis Media Releases 06/06/2005

11. A field of Artemisia annua in Kenya the the AAEA ltd contact Joseph Bazambanza artemisiaannua@inbox.com