Further reduction in drug costs - conference

Delegates at an upcoming HIV/AIDS conference in Nairobi, Kenya, are to lobby for a further reduction in the cost of anti-AIDS drugs to the continent, Kenyan newspaper The East African Standard reported on Monday. Some 8,000 delegates are expected to attend the bi-annual 13th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), running from 21 to 26 September. ICASA chairman, Dr Dundu M. Owili, called for a stronger commitment from attending ministers and stakeholders to ensure that all people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa benefit from cheaper drugs. Owili said the conference would also campaign to ensure an end to discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS by employers and insurance companies. Kenyan insurance companies recently announced that they were looking into establishing special life cover for people living with HIV/AIDS.