The Fever

The Fever: The Fight Against Malaria An appeal for self-determination and herbal medicine in East Africa Covid-19 shut down the world, but we must not forget other infectious diseases! Malaria has already killed more people south of the Sahara than all the diseases and wars on earth put together: One dead child per minute is the cruel formula. As a result of the lockdown and the resulting deterioration in health care, the malaria parasite will even kill an estimated one million people in Africa this year -- twice as many as otherwise annually! Black Lives Don't Matter? But what if a medicinal plant could appease mankind's oldest parasite? An affordable medicine that everyone can grow themselves in the garden. In the crisis region of East Africa, alternative practitioner Rehema Namyalo, biologist Richard Mukabana and pharmacologist Patrick Ogwang are relying on Artemisia annua (annual mugwort): its isolated active ingredient artemisinin has long been used successfully by the global pharmaceutical industry in expensive malaria preparations. But in their search for local, cheap solutions, the researchers encounter fierce resistance from the pharmaceutical companies and great scepticism from their own governments. Not even the WHO wants to support their efforts. Is this really still about development cooperation or about colonial subjugation and greed for profit? 'The Fever: The Fight Against Malaria' is a wake-up call: We, who are experiencing the horror of a pandemic for the first time, are reminded of those who have been struggling with deadly diseases for ages.