Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 11, 2002
The move, facilitated by UNAIDS, came during an HIV/AIDS triple therapy programme, officially inaugurated on 4 September by Health Minister Joseph Kalite. However, a quantity of medication sufficient for only 100 people will be made available during the first year, in accordance with an agreement reached with pharmaceutical companies.
"We signed an accord with Merck Sharp and Domes [USA] in July 2001, with Smith Kline [UK] and CIPLA (India) in October 2001," Dr Jean Bertrand Wata, Director of the Tripletherapy Centre and national coordinator of HIV/AIDS drugs access programme, told IRIN.
He added that during the first year, the Tripletherapy Centre would take care of 100 patients who would be chosen on the basis of very strict biological and clinical criteria, as determined by specialised medical doctors.
According to a ministerial decree, only 11 doctors in CAR are currently authorised to prescribe HIV/AIDS drugs, because of the specific training required. Wata said the training programme for HIV/AIDS drugs administration would be extended to doctors in rural areas very soon.
Acknowledging that the cost of the treatment was still well out of reach of the average CAR citizen, Wata told IRIN his centre would seek funding from the government in an effort to further reduce the cost.
CAR is the most severely HIV/AIDS-affected nation in the central African subregion and the 10th most affected in the world, with 12 percent of its population HIV-positive.
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