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Import tax hurting AIDS drug access - US

    JOHANNESBURG

    The US ambassador to Kenya, William Bellamy, has urged the East African Community to lift the import duty on antiretroviral medication.

    A new 10 percent tax levied by the region's customs union is impairing the availability of anti-AIDS drugs and was cause for concern, said the East African Treatment Access Movement, an AIDS advocacy group.

    At a meeting with Kenyan Vice President Moody Awori, Bellamy said anti-AIDS drugs were not luxury goods, and could prolong the lives of scores of people.

    The BBC quoted Bellamy as saying: "I urge the government of Kenya to join forces with the governments in Tanzania and Uganda to permanently and immediately exempt antiretrovirals from duty, regardless of who is importing them."

    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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