中国药品有助于非洲人民

Hello and welcome to this edition of Africa Express here on China Radio International. I'm your host, Wei Tong.

At present, malaria is the deadliest disease in Africa. However, there is some inspiring news for Africans suffering from the deadly disease. A famous Chinese medicine brand, "Cotecxin," known as the "enemy of malaria," is now very popular on the continent. It is warmly welcomed by Africans for its curative effects and low price and has contributed tremendously in treating the disease.

Samples of Cotecxin are shown on a table.
The World Health Organization has revealed malaria infections in Africa account for 90 percent of all global cases. More than three million die every year in Africa. However, the patients are resistant to the traditional drugs against malaria. In 1993, Beijing Holley-Cotec developed a new medicine called DihydroArtemisinin, or "Cotecxin." Approved by the WHO, it was brought to Africa as an effective cure for malaria.

Lu Chunming, president of Beijing Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals, explained the effects of Cotecxin.

"I lived in Africa for quite a long time. I was glad to see my products have saved many lives."

Clinical tests have proven Cotecxin can cure over 95 percent of malignant and cerebral malaria cases. London-based The Times said that Cotecxin is magical, having saved millions of lives in Africa.

So far, there is no accurate figure as to how many patients have survived thanks to Cotecxin. I'll share with you a well known true story in Kenya though. A pregnant woman in Kenya had malaria. After taking Cotecxin, both she and her baby were cured. She named her lucky baby Cotecxin after the medicine to convey her gratitude and let the child remember the friendship of the Chinese people forever.

In recent years, Cotecxin is always selected as a present for African leaders when their Chinese counterparts visit the continent.

China announced in 2005 that the country will increase its assistance to Africa over the next three years. This will include providing medicine against malaria and assistance to perfect medical equipment and staff training.

In order to better serve African locals, Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals has made efforts to localize in Africa. Last year, the company established a logistics center in Kenya. It has facilitated the production of Holley's anti-malarial medicine in Africa and what's more, lowered transportation costs.

There are many excellent students in Africa. However, quite a few of them have had to drop out of school due to financial hardship. Holley-Cotec decided to cooperate with local universities and set up a scholarship to support these students to finish their studies and train more medical staff in Africa. Here is Lu Chunming again.

"We decided to cooperate with the University of Nairobi and Moi University in Kenya to finance around 100 pharmacy majors every year. They will be trained over five years."

This is the first time Chinese enterprises have set up academic scholarships in Africa. They have won appraisals from Kenya in terms of training highly qualified personnel as a reward to society. When Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Kenya last April, this project was included in the framework of education cooperation between the two countries, and carried out as an official cooperative project.

Lu Chunming points out it is quite important for Chinese enterprises to respect African culture and learn more about African customs and lifestyles before they strive to enter the market. He added the success of Beijing Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals was not only because of the medicine itself with its high quality and low price, but also the concept of respecting African culture.

Lu Chunming said Chinese enterprises which have cooperated with African countries have never been as good as they are today..

"I think Sino-African ties have achieved a new historic climax. I am sure it will be easier and more convenient for Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa with more favorable political and economic policies."

That brings us to the end of this edition of Africa Express. If you would like to listen to this or other stories again, please log onto our website at www.crienglish.com. You can also contact us via email through africaexpress@crifm.com. I'm Wei Tong. I hope you can tune into our program next time. Bye for now!