Cupboards with pigeon-holed drawers line up the room, giving off exotic smells. Tags on the drawers are all written in Chinese characters, the doctor sitting at the table take pulse rate rather than relying on stethoscope only in diagnoses.

Judged by its external features, anyone would be inclined to take the room as a typical Chinese pharmacy in China.

Yet it is just located at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where traditional Chinese medicine has been in use since 1987.

Favuma, a typist from the town, named the dried cuts and slices of herbs inside the drawers as if she were a Chinese traditional medicine practitioner.

"Huang-Qi, Dang-Sen and Huang-Qin," the names she pronounced sounded pure Chinese, in reference to three kinds of medical herbs.

Favuma knew them well because she has taken Chinese traditional medicine for 11 years to contain the HIV virus in her body from deteriorating into full-blown AIDS.

Along with the traditional medical herbs from the Orient, Chinese traditional medical practitioners started to come to Tanzania in 1987 after late Tanzanian President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere had invited them to help prevent the spread of AIDS in his country with traditional Chinese medicines.

Yang Fengzhen, a herbalist doctor from the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicines, said Chinese thought AIDS were jointly caused by the invasion of wrong and bad Qi (Qi is a flow of vital energy in the human body) from outside the human body and unintended discharge of right and good Qi from within the body.

The Chinese traditional medical practitioners working at Muhimbili, therefore, have been trying to redress these two problems together with different tried-and-true formulae of herbs.

After several years of carrying out medical experiments, the Chinese doctors have developed several formulae to deal with HIV/AIDS virus, and consequently they have become the fore-runners in treating HIV/AIDS patients with Chinese traditional herbal medicines.

So far, more than 50 Chinese herbalist doctors have worked at Muhimbili.

Yang, who heads the ninth group of Chinese doctors to work at the hospital, was dispatched in accordance with an agreement signed in July, 2006 by the Chinese and Tanzanian governments that also aspire to treat more diseases with traditional Chinese medicine s other than HIV/ AIDS.

"We planned to start with treating asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, rheumatism, and some women problems," said Yang.

"We have brought some Chinese traditional herbal medicines here to serve this purpose," the doctor said.

"Though tasted bizarre, the decoction of Chinese herbs is really good at relieving abdomen pains, stopping cough and severe diarrhoea," Favuma commented as she felt better and better with taking Chinese traditional medicines.

"I have even put on some weight since I tried Chinese herbs," she said.

Medical analysis showed that the Chinese formulae are 40-50 percent effective in reducing the amount of HIV virus and increasing the number of CD4 immunization cells in the human body.

What's more, the Chinese herbs are much less expensive than other anti-retroviral drugs as they cost an average of 1 U.S. dollar for a day's dose and treatment.

"That is real good news to us," said Favuma. "We cannot afford expensive drugs."

According to Yang, for most of the Tanzanian patients who resorted to Chinese traditional medicines, the Chinese herbal formulae have been used as an intermediary medication between the diagnosis of HIV infection and the life-maintaining final treatment of full-blown AIDS.

"I thank the Chinese doctors for the past 11 years," Vavuma said. "I have not only survived this fatal disease but also been able to continue to work as a typist to support myself and my family."

Favuma's friend, who recommended her to seek help from Chinese herbalist doctors, got luckily the chance to go to study abroad after using the Chinese traditional medicines for 15 years to deal with the same disease.

(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2006)