Benin-Mali Exchanges - South/South

The Houses of Artemisia are multidisciplinary centres of expertise.They are responsible for supervising the sustainable promotion of Artemisia in malaria-endemic countries.  They act in accordance with an ethical charter. One of the important points of the charter is to “share our knowledge and know-how at all levels (agronomic, medical, technical and institutional)”. This sharing takes place North/South but also South/South. 

This is how Darling Guidigan, Head of the House of Artemisia in Bohicon, Benin, and also Promoter of the BIOAROMATE Solidarity Company, travelled to Mali in March 2020.

There are currently 3 Houses of Artemisia in Mali (Bamako/Kati, Gao and Banco), opened in 2017.

Objectives of visit :

  1. support the Mali Houses of Artemisia in structuring themselves to improve the promotion of Artemisia
  2. lay the foundations for Mali National Association of Houses of Artemisia

The visit began with a tour of production sites and meetings with trained Artemisia producers, traditional practitioners and other urban stakeholders involved in the promotion of Artemisia.

This made it possible to complete the training received by producers and to propose the creation of a network for the supply and promotion of Artemisia. A decision was taken to recruit a promotion and distribution officer whose mission will be to develop the promotion and communication of Artemisia herbal tea.

This is a good example of cooperation and exchanges between Houses of Artemisia in two countries.  Their common objective is to fight malaria with Artemisia, targeting their most vulnerable populations.