Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 22, 2001
Minister for health, Sam Ongeri was quoted as saying that it was impossible to provide ARVs - used in the drug cocktail used to fight HIV/AIDS - in public hospitals as it would mean spending one-fifth of the ministry's Ksh 15 billion (US $195 million) on the therapy, forcing spending on many other public health services to be frozen.
He added that treatment was only available in private hospitals, which employed clinicians qualified to administer the drugs. Only 2,000 of Kenya's estimates 2.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS were able to afford treatment with ARVs, according to Ongeri.
Enactment of the Industrial Property Act by Parliament, however, could make the drugs more widely available, as it would allow the government to import or manufacture cheaper copies of brand-name drugs, including ARVs, Ongeri said. Kenya's MPs took the first step towards improving accessibility to the drugs in June, when they passed the Industrial Property Bill, making Kenya the second African country, after South Africa, to adopt such legislation.
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