Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Zimbabwe
  • News

UNICEF to take over ARVs imports

    JOHANNESBURG
    In a bid to alleviate Zimbabwe's current shortage of anti-AIDS drugs, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will take over the importing of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) from the health ministry. National AIDS Council (NAC) executive director Dr Tapuwa Magure announced that the Zim $30 billion earmarked for the procurement of ARVs would be handed over to UNICEF to "improve the supply of ARVs in the country", the Herald reported. But AIDS activist Lisungu Chieza, of the Vital Hope Support Group, expressed concern over the long-term sustainability of the arrangement, "because ARVs have to be taken for life and we cannot afford to stop treatment halfway due to the danger of resistance to the drugs". The shortage of foreign currency in the country has been blamed for the dearth of ARVs in the country. Varichem, the country's main manufacturer of ARVs, has currently been receiving little or no money at all from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

    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

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join