The New York Times > Health > Herbal Drug Is Embraced in Treating Malaria

The New York Times > Health > Herbal Drug Is Embraced in Treating Malaria

UNICEF and the World Bank have approved use of artemisinin, a compound based on qinghaosu or sweet wormwood, in malaria control programs. The new Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has given 11 countries grants to buy artemisinin and has instructed 34 others to drop requests for two older drugs — chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine — and switch to the new one. Agencies are racing to acquire 100 million doses. "Until recently," according to this article, big donors like the United States and Britain had opposed its use on a wide scale, saying it was too expensive, had not been tested enough on children and was not needed in areas where other malaria drugs still worked."