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AFRICA: Increased drug access

    JOHANNESBURG

    Six multi-national drug manufacturers on Tuesday said they would
    increase the supply of HIV/AIDS drugs to the African continent.

    The pharmaceutical companies made the announcement as part of the "Accelerating Access" programme by UNAIDS and World Health Organisation (WHO), Reuters reported.

    The manufacturers - Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, Abbott and Boehringer-Ingelheim - acknowledged that current efforts to provide treatment to HIV-positive people "only scratched the surface" of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.

    However, drug industry figures showed the number of people with access to antiretroviral drugs had "increased significantly" since March 2002. Precise figures will not be available for some months, the companies said.

    Since the "Accelerating Access" programme began in May 2000, 19
    countries have negotiated with the firms to receive HIV/AIDS drugs at discounts of between 85 and 90 percent.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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