Zambian health minister Joseph Kasonde on Wednesday said Chinese anti-malaria drug Artemisinin arrived in the country at a right time when the disease became resistant to traditional drugs like quinine and chloroquine.
The minister said the use of Artemisinin became valuable and the southern African nation is relying on the drug to treat malaria.
Artemisinin, discovered by Dr Tu Youyou, the first Chinese scientist to win a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for 2015 is now part of standard anti-malarial regimes which has done much to reduce death rates.
"We rely on it for control, treatment of malaria. So we know how big the problem of malaria is in our country and therefore we appreciate very much that we can use Artemisinin in the treatment of malaria," he said.
When asked on government plans to use the drug directly instead of using it as a combination therapy, the Zambian minister said this was a matter which could be discussed between the two countries.
He however said what was important was that the Chinese drug was being used despite being in a different form.
He further commended the Chinese scientist for winning the Nobel prize, adding that the Asian nation and the scientist needed to be commended for such a major advancement.
Dr Aaron Mujajati, the president of the Zambia Medical Association also confirmed to Xinhua that the drug was being used in malaria treatment as a combination drug.
"Most of the drugs that we use in Zambia come from China either directly or in combination form," he said.
Malaria is a major health problem in Zambia despite recent successes in scaling up interventions as it affects about 4 million people annually. It accounts for 50 percent of under-five hospital admissions as well as 20 percent maternal deaths.
Dr. Tu, the chief professor at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine was inspired by Chinese traditional medicine in discovering Artemisinin by screening many herbal remedies in malaria-infected animals. The drug has since been included in the World Health Organization list of essential medicines.
