Customs levy could hurt AIDS drug access - NGO

The East African Treatment Access Movement (EATAM), an HIV/AIDS advocacy group, is concerned that a new 10 percent tax levied on imported goods by the region's customs union could impair the availability of anti-AIDS drugs. The levy was imposed despite a state of emergency being declared in the region as a result of the pandemic, and EATAM member James Kamau fears that children, women, the poor and hard-to-reach people in rural areas will bear the brunt of the additional tax. A Kenyan newspaper, The Nation, quoted Kamau as saying: "The customs issue was discussed without recognising the health implications, especially the right to health, which is a universal human right." Officials from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda launched the 'East African Customs Union' earlier this year, in the hope of increasing regional and global trade.