The malaria business: Big pharma vs natural medicine

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By: Bernard CRUTZEN 1 min

A medicinal plant called Artemisia annua (or sweet wormwood) has been used in China to treat malaria for 2,000 years and is still grown by farmers in Africa. But it's not approved by the World Health Organization and remains banned in a number of countries, including France. Malaria claims almost half a million lives each year and Africa is worst affected. In recent years, the mosquitoes that spread the disease have become increasingly resistant to insecticide.