In most African countries, health care is relatively backward. Often, traditional herbalists and witch doctors coexist with modern medical treatments, with modern medicine taking the lead. City hospitals rely on the employment of foreign physicians responsible for treatment, while the countryside, forests and pastoralism and mining areas mainly rely on witch doctors engaged in diagnosis and treatment, the local traditional herbalists are also more common, but no systematic knowledge of medicine, the actual level of medical care is relatively low. In many countries, the public medical system is implemented, but the medical and health facilities are incomplete, and the lack of medical treatment is serious. since 1960, China's medical teams have been active in many countries, such as Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Niger, Zaire, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, etc., which has improved the local medical conditions to a certain extent and trained a group of medical and health personnel for them. Many Africans understand Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, or repeatedly benefited from it, never forget, for the development of Chinese medicine in Africa has laid the foundation.
Africa is also a rising international market for Chinese herbal medicines. in 1992, the total sales of Chinese medicine market in Africa had reached 320 million U.S. dollars, with a growth rate of about 12%. It is expected that in the 21st century, Chinese herbal medicine will play a leading role in Africa, and China is increasing its investment to prepare for the coming golden period.
Management of Chinese medicine in Africa
African countries still lack a set of rules and regulations for the management of Chinese medicine. Most of the countries there implement public medical system, patients often do not have to pay for medical treatment, including registration fee, consultation fee, examination and treatment fee, medicine fee, hospitalization fee and other expenditures are borne by the state, but due to the obvious shortage of medical and health care outlets and the necessary equipment, the low level of medical care, which makes it difficult to reverse the situation of the lack of medical care and medicines. In recent years, some countries have experienced a sharp increase in medical costs, and are unable to cope with the burden, so the implementation of the state and individual **** bear the cost of medical care system, no longer all underwritten, and to allow the private sector to set up hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, but the provisions of private hospitals and clinics for the self-financed medical units, all the costs of treatment at their own expense.
Medical education in Africa
African countries have not yet formed their own system of medical education, Chinese medicine education is lacking. At present, it is still mainly rely on foreign training of doctors, such as studying in Europe and the United States, and return to their home countries to practice, or employed in state hospitals. TCM doctors are mostly trained by China and other Asian countries. Since the 1960s, more than 1,000 people have come to China to study Chinese medicine in almost 55 countries and regions in Africa. The course of study ranges from three months to five years, and a few have gone on to postgraduate studies. Before the professional study, they also have to study Chinese for 1 to 2 years. There are dozens of African students studying in Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from 10 countries, including Egypt, Mali, Benin, Morocco, Rwanda, Burundi, Comoros, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea and Somalia. Some of these students have gone on to further studies or employment in third countries. Local ethnic doctors also lack of management, consolidation and improvement, so the academic research work of the African medical community is very weak, regional academic exchanges are mostly based on case reports, less rigorous scientific research design, in the world of medicine is not a high status, which is closely related to the level of medical education.
In Africa, the application of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of common diseases, difficult diseases, academic papers are mostly from the hands of doctors of the Chinese medical team in aid of Africa. There is a high prevalence of AIDS, viral hepatitis, modern medical measures are ineffective, the Chinese medical team to use Chinese medicine theory of diagnosis and treatment of typing, integrated application of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and other measures to carry out clinical research, so that more than 70% of patients with symptoms improve, reduce the condition of the disease, and thus achieved remarkable results. Chinese medicine has won the trust of the governments and people of some countries, who hope that the cooperation between the two sides of the cause of Chinese medicine will continue and continue to develop. in March 1996, Tanzania's Ministry of Health Chief Medical Officer Jimabu and other officials visited China, negotiated and signed a letter of agreement on the continuation of cooperation between the two countries in the use of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of AIDS, visited the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xiyuan Hospital, with the intention of expanding the field of cooperation in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, and also met with the sixth batch of Chinese medical doctors to Tanzania.
Africa's drug market
Africa has long suffered from colonial rule, with only three independent countries, Egypt, Ethiopia and Liberia, before World War II. The economic lifeblood of each country has been controlled by foreign powers for a long time, the industrial structure is unreasonable, the overall level is low, most of the countries do not even have a pharmaceutical factory, all the necessary drugs rely on imports, including water for injections need to buy foreign exchange. In the past, Africa's drug market is monopolized by France, Britain, Germany, Belgium, the United States, Italy and other countries, and in recent years, Japan and India have gradually entered Africa. African countries, Nigeria, geography and agriculture and industry is more developed, there are some U.S. aid in the construction of the pharmaceutical industry, its products are sold domestically or imported into other African countries. China's pharmaceuticals are within the better quality (packaging does not prevail), low prices for the advantage of entering Africa, in the countries sales growth year by year, but also in Africa, joint ventures to set up factories. 1970 in Zanzibar built Kegger Pharmaceutical Enterprises, the 90's in Mali, C?te d'Ivoire, and other countries to build joint ventures or cooperation in pharmaceutical factories or companies. At present, the production and marketing of these factories in good condition, the local people are playing an important role in the cause of health care. African countries for Chinese medicine trade. More than no written regulations and restrictions. Morocco and other countries on raw materials tax-free, which includes Chinese medicine tablets. Some drug dealers hope to import Chinese and Western medicines directly from China to reduce the cost of purchase and guarantee the quality of medicines. The proliferation of Chinese medicine vendors or stores in some African cities, where counterfeit products are common, is a new problem in the trade of Chinese medicine.
In the past 10 years, China's general medicines and health products have been selling well in Mali, Tanzania, Ghana, Niger and Zambia. This includes Suzhou-produced Liushen Pills, Niu Huang Anti-inflammatory Jiu, Honeysuckle Luolu, Shanghai-produced Divine Effect Safflower Oil, Longhu Brand Cooling Oil, Wind Oil Essence of East China, pollen preparations, as well as weight-loss teas, Ten Drops of Water, Ice Boron Powder, and Rheumatism and Analgesic Poultices. Some proprietary Chinese medicines, such as Liu Wei Di Huang Jiu, Cao Xiang Zheng Qi Jiu, and Chai Hu preparations, are in high demand. Hot Africa needs more aromatic deodorants, antiseptic insecticides, anti-inflammatory analgesics, air fresheners and health care cleaning bath, Chinese-made electric mosquito tablets, spray insecticides, cockroach medicine is quite popular.
African pharmaceutical market also has some unfavorable factors. For example, ① African countries to implement the government-run health care system, commonly used in Europe and the United States drugs. ② the overall economic situation is not good. The overall economic situation is not good, ③ management regulations are not sound. This specific operation of the trade in traditional Chinese medicine has brought some difficulties, we need to further grasp the national conditions, people and market information, to develop a flexible and effective production and marketing programs, in order to take advantage of the international trade in traditional Chinese medicine.