Zimbabwe blames its declining healthcare system and anti-AIDS drug shortages on economic sanctions imposed by developed countries, according to the official Herald newspaper, which described the sanctions as "illegal".
Testimony presented recently to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health showed that people were sometimes sharing antiretrovirals (ARVs) as a result of the drug shortages.
"Sanctions kill ... as can already be seen by their effects on our livelihoods as a people ... look at fuel, look at drug supply and even ARVs," said Deputy health minister Edwin Muguti.
Muguti noted that his department was working hard to correct the rollout of AIDS medication in the country, which has an estimated HIV prevalence of 20.1 percent.
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