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Waiting for free AIDS drugs in Namibia

    JOHANNESBURG

    Multi-national pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, recently announced a price reduction on its once-daily HIV/AIDS drug, Viread, to 68 developing countries.

    However, Namibia's AIDS Law Unit on Wednesday said most locals could not afford the proposed US $1.30 per person daily.

    "A move like this is good for increased levels of competition among pharmaceutical companies and for future price cuts, but the cost is still too high for many people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa," AIDS Law Unit lawyer, Delme Cupido, told the UN news service PlusNews.

    Cupido said while the Gilead Sciences initiative was welcomed, many locals were waiting for the government's promise of free HIV/AIDS drugs to materialise.

    Namibia's government promised in March to make antiretrovirals freely available to all people living with HIV/AIDS.

    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

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