Search
  1. Home
  2. East Africa
  3. Tanzania

Free anti-retrovirals for HIV-positive women

    NAIROBI

    The government of Tanzania has announced that it is to distribute the anti-retroviral drug Viruamune (nevirapine) free to HIV-positive pregnant women for five years, starting this month, in an effort to break mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, the pharmaceutical industry intelligence report ‘MarketLetter’ reported on Friday. The decision followed a pilot study in four hospitals in Tanzania which had found that the use of the drug reduced mother-to-child transmission by 60 percent, it quoted Deputy Minister for Health Hussein Ali Mwinyi as saying.

    Research in Uganda had shown that two oral doses of the drug (one while the mother was in labour and another one to the child within the first 72 hours) at about US $4 per case reduced mother-to-child-transmission by 48 percent, “MarketLetter’ reported, citing Reuters news agency. Dr James Whitworth, head of the Uganda AIDS programme for the British-based Medical Research Council (MRC), told Reuters that the drug was the most promising advance to date in tackling mother-to-child transmission in Africa, the report added.

    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