Projects
53. Extension of the Production of inputs to cultivate Artemisia annua to fight malaria in DRC
Description
Extension of the cultivation and production of seed and cuttings of Artemisia annua through various sites located in 14 provinces of the DRC and the city of Kinshasa.
Promoter: IDAY-DRC
Beneficiaries: Close to 12 000 persons will be protected against malaria and other tropical infectious diseases
Total budget: 34 178 €
Outside financing sought : 28 733 €
Project
IDAY-RDC implemented with success a first project cultivating Artemisia annua primarily for the production of seed. The coalition wishes now to extend the crop to other provinces with the goal to start trials and propagate the means of production of the plant for future extension on a large scale once the population and the authorities will be convinced of the considerable advantages of the plant in comparison to the classical means of fighting malaria. These means are not accessible to the population as a whole because of their high prices. They are also impaired by resistances and counterfeits. On the contrary, Artemisia annua is an effective repellent against the vector, has no known secondary effects and no resistance has been observed so far; it is being extended on a large scale throughout Africa.
In DRC, Artemisia annua tea has been used for many years (a brochure showing its multiple benefits was published in 2003) and ANAMED, a German commercial enterprise spreads the tea in several hospitals in the country. The studies conducted so fare confirm the efficacy of the plant, and the Ministry of youth supports the proposed project in particular because of its impact on other infectious tropical diseases such as bilharzia as confirmed precisely by research conducted in the DRC. In other African countries where IDAY promotes the plant in school gardens, scholastic results have improved markedly.
Expected Results
> 15 seed production centres (1 in Kinshasa and 14 in provinces in school gardens) including with the support of religious centres.
> Close to 12 000 persons will be protected against malaria and other tropical infectious diseases.
> The seed production centres will serve as launching pads to the spreading of the plant in other school gardens of the country.
> Three student exchanges will facilitate the spreading of the knowledge about the agricultural and medical practices concerning the plant and will reinforce pan- Africanism among the youth;
The project is part of a series of school garden projects promoted by IDAY in 8 African countries at the request of its civil society.