Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - June 21, 2004
African ARV roll-out: On Monday Uganda became the latest African country to begin distributing free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to HIV-positive people, the country's Minister of Health, Jim Muhwezi, said.
An estimated 100 000 of the 1,2-million HIV-positive Ugandans are in need of ARV treatment, but as of December last year only 17 000 people had access to the drugs.
Government price negotiations and generic versions of ARV drugs have helped reduce the treatment costs from $1 500 a person a month to $30 a person a month, Muhwezi said. The drugs were scheduled to be delivered to hospitals on Monday and to arrive at selected private clinics, police, army and research centres by June 26, Muhwezi said.
The government has stocked enough drugs to begin treating 2 700 patients, with priority given to low-income earners.
The Ugandan government will initially distribute $1,3-million worth of drugs, followed by $1,7-million worth of ARVs.
Funding for the programme is provided by initial grants from the World Bank, and those funds are expected to be supplemented with an additional $70-million from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the next five years.
In February this year Uganda also received $37-million in funding from the United States's President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief. That amount represents half of what the country is expected to receive under the initiative for 2004. A portion of the money will be used to help provide ARV drug treatment for 60 000 HIV-positive people as well as care and support for an additional 300 000 HIV-positive people.
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