Tax incentives on AIDS drugs purchase

African countries can now purchase antiretroviral drugs duty-free from pharmacies in Canada, a senior UN official has announced. Stephen Lewis, the UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, said during a meeting earlier this week with the Ugandan state minister for regional cooperation, Augustine Nshimye, that Canada was the first country to legislate such a policy on anti-AIDS drugs. "The Ugandan authorities should get in touch with the Canadian government to utilise this opportunity and import generic drugs. Kenya has already done so and Uganda should follow suit," he said. At least 50 developing countries are now eligible to receive generic drugs at a fraction of the prices charged in Canada after new legislation was passed by the House of Commons late last year.