Search
  1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Nigeria

Duty waiver urged on anti-AIDS drugs

    JOHANNESBURG
    Pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has urged Nigeria's federal government to waive import duty on anti-AIDS drugs, a local newspaper, This Day, reported. GSK general manager for West and Central Africa, Karim El-Alaoui, said the waiver was necessary for further reducing the cost of drugs to those Nigerians who would not be able to benefit from the government's HIV/AIDS programme. The government was criticised by AIDS activists for its poor handling of the drug programme, which faltered and ran out of supplies in September last year. El-Alaoui said: "Today Combivir, the backbone of HIV therapy, can be obtained for as little as US nine cents per day under our preferential pricing programme. The company is currently working in partnership with over 20 establishments and corporate bodies, through which our antiretroviral drugs, including syrups, are sold at not-for-profit prices."

    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