Ｃｏｔｅｃｘｉｎ—Ｔｉｅ ｏｆ Ｓｉｎｏ－Ａｆｒｉｃａｎ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ

Malaria is one of the most dangerous killers threatening the health of African people and is now still spreading in the countries south of the Sahara. Prevention and treatment of malaria have turned from a health problem to a social， economic and even political problem. Many countries put the elimination of malaria on the agenda of the government’s important work. At present， medicine treatment is the main way for prevention and cure of malaria. The quinine-based drugs that have been used for a long time have given rise to the phenomenon of drug-resistance in different degrees or produced obvious side effects. The artemisinin-based anti-malaria medicine independently developed and manufactured by China that has its own intellectual property rights， in clinic practice has not presented any drug resistance or produced obvious side effects. Thus， it has attracted great attention among the international medical circles. The World Health Organization has listed artemisinin-based anti-malaria medicine as the optimum medicine for treating malaria－Africa’s chronic and stubborn disease. African media highly praise China’s Cotecxin (registered name of an artemisinin-based medicine) as a “tie of Sino-African friendship”

Practice has proved that the successful experience China has achieved in preventing and curing malaria can help the African people to fully get rid of the plague of malaria. Prevention and control of malaria has become an important content of Sino-African cooperation in the medical field. Artemisinin is an effective composition extracted from artemisia， a kind of annual plant of the composite family. Scientists have found through research that the artemisia growing in Youyang District of Chongqing， China contains the highest artemisinin content. At present， China has already owned the most complete production chain of artemisinin in the world， raw artemisinin produced in China accounting for over 80 percent of the world total. The owner of this production chain is the Holley-Cotec Group.

The Holley-Cotec Group’s complete chain includes seed breeding， artemisia planting， extraction of artemisinin from the plant， manufacture of intermediate products， medicament preparation and marketing. The Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals Co.， Ltd. entered anti-malaria drug market in Africa a decade ago. Its series of anti-malaria products Cotecxin is a household name throughout the regions south of the Sahara. By taking Cotecxin， patients seriously ill with malaria can be cured in three days. Its miraculous effects have been gradually accepted by African doctors and patients. Cotecxin is called by the local people as miracle-working anti-malaria medicine.

For years， the anti-malarial medicine market in Africa had been mainly monopolized by pharmaceutical companies of the Western countries. In the early days after entering the African market， the China-made artemisinin-based anti-malaria medicine was discriminated and attacked in all respects. However， most patients ill with malaria in Africa were poor people who could not afford expensive Europe-made medicine， and this provided a broad market for Cotecxin－ China-made cheap but good quality anti-malaria medicine with miraculous effects. Cotecxin salesmen spared no efforts and went all over the African modern cities and remote backward rural areas. Wherever there were patients ill with malaria， there were staffers of the Holley-Cotec. The African brothers were touched by the sincerity of the Holley-Cotec staff and admired the miraculous effects of Cotecxin.

Today， Cotecxin has become a famous medicine brand acknowledged in the medical circles in Africa and the world， and has been registered in 35 countries in the world. Among the same kind of products， it ranks first in the market share in eastern Africa， and second in western African market. According to incomplete statistics， by the end of 2005， Cotecxin’s accumulated sales volume reached 15 million person/dosages. It has made undeniable contribution to helping relieve African people from the sufferings of malaria. During his visit to the Holley-Cotec Group in June 2005， the editor-in-chief of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation said with emotion， “When I climbed the magnificent Great Wall， it suddenly occurred to me that by helping Africa in prevention and cure of malaria， China is building an anti-malaria Great Wall in Africa. The African people will remember the Chinese people’s friendship from generation to generation， and will never forget the Holley-Cotec Group that has made remarkable contribution to relieving African people from the sufferings of malaria.”

The year 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Sino-African diplomatic relations. Today China and Africa maintain very friendly political relations and conduct unprecedentedly active economic and trade cooperation. The Holley-Cotec Group treasures greatly the traditional friendship between China and the African countries， stands ready to continue to make efforts to help the African brothers to get rid of the plague of malaria， and improve their health， and make new contributions.

The author is vice president of the Chinese Research Society of African Affairs.