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PATANDI VILLAGE, Tanzania (AP) - Atanasia Vincent Moshia stands proudly next to the knee-high plants she's growing to fight two African ills: malaria and poverty.
In March, Moshia, a farmer and agricultural extension officer with the Tanzanian government, switched from planting the corn and beans she's been growing for years to artemisia annua, a medicinal herb from which artemisinin is extracted to make a drug or a combination of drugs used to treat malaria. She expects it to be a more lucrative crop.
Artemisia annua, more commonly known as wormwood or sagewort, has been applied to a variety of ailments, including hemorrhoids, coughs and fevers. China and Vietnam are the main sources of the plant native to Asia, but they have been unable to meet a steep increase in demand. The World Health Organization says demand for artemisinin-based combination drug treatment rose to 30 million courses in 2004, from just 2 million courses in 2003.
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