Vietnam: Second largest producer of anti-malarial drug

Vietnam is the second largest Artemisinin producer in the world, according to an international seminar on Artemisinin held in Hanoi on November 2.

China is ranked first in producing the drug used to treat malaria. China and Vietnam occupy 70 per cent of the raw material for Artemisinin processing while East Africa provides nearly 20 per cent.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen stressed the significance of the seminar which took place at a time when anti-malarial drug resistance rates are comparatively high in the world.

The official expressed hope that delegates will bring out an assessment and action plan related to researching and producing Artemisinin as well as solutions to drug resistance.

In Vietnam, Artemisinin is found in the northern provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh and Bac Giang.

The national malaria control program conducted in Vietnam during the 2006-2010 period acquired successes. Especially, the number of death caused by malaria infection in 2010 declined by 40 per cent compared to 2006.- VGP

Tags: Vietnam Drug industry

Posted by VBN on Nov 4 2011. Filed under Health & Drugs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry