Gov't lacks accurate HIV statistics

Tanzania's lack of current, accurate HIV statistics is causing concern about the government's ability to create effective strategies to reduce the spread of the virus. Inconsistent statistics caused a heated debate in parliament recently after Dr Lucas Siyame, deputy minister of disaster management and HIV/AIDS control, admitted that the government did not have accurate figures on the extent of the disease. "It's not possible to state whether prevalence is on the increase or decline," Siyame said, also conceding that the distribution of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs was arbitrary. The ministry of health's chief medical officer, Dr Gabriel Upunda, said the failure to accurately measure the level of HIV infection was the result of an acute shortage of sentinel sites and testing centres across the country. Despite these drawbacks, Siyame said the government was "determined to prevent new infections at whatever cost".