University students to get free ARVs

HIV-positive staff and students at the University of Zambia (UNZA) will now be able to receive free antiretroviral drugs on campus. The treatment programme was launched in Lusaka, the capital, last week by UNZA vice-chancellor Professor Robert Serpell, who called on students to come forward and be tested for the virus. According to a local newspaper, The Times of Zambia, US $32,000 has been spent on equipment for the ARV laboratory. Serpell was reported as saying that the epidemic had robbed the institution of qualified staff recently, and "the advent of the ARVs treatment was important in response to combating the disease". An estimated 16.5 percent of the country's population is estimated to be HIV-positive.