Back to Index

WASN irked by government delays in implementating Nevirapine programme
Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN)
June 12, 2002

Petition

Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN) has launched a petition to demand that Government avails Nevirapine to HIV positive expectant women at all health centres throughout the country by 01 December, 2002.

Nevirapine is an antiretroviral drug that reduces parent-to-child-transmission (PTCT) of HIV by about 50 percent. Its manufacturers, the German-based pharmaceutical, Boehringer Ingelheim are supplying it to selected third world countries, including Zimbabwe, free of charge for the next five years.

Inaccessibility

However, WASN notes with concern that although the drug is being supplied free of charge, it remains largely unavailable and inaccessible to the generality of HIV positive expectant mothers and private medical practitioners.

The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOH&CW), has said that it aims to avail Nevirapine to pregnant HIV positive women at all urban health centres and 50 percent of all rural health centres by the end of this year.

However, to date only 35 health centres throughout the country are either offering Nevirapine to HIV positive expectant mothers, or in the process of preparing to give the service.

Out of 600 000 Zimbabwean women who give birth annually, 200 000 are HIV positive and 30 percent of them transmit the virus to their babies. This means that 55 to 60 000 babies are born infected.

Given these figures and the fact that half the year has already passed with less than 35 centres offering Nevirapine, WASN questions Government’s commitment to the programme. We wonder what miracles Government intends to perform to make the drug available to the rest of the country, particularly rural areas that are most affected, within the remaining six months of this year.

MOH&CW have said that it is the prerogative of health centres to apply to Government in order to participate in the Nevirapine programme. However, the centres have to meet certain standards, for instance, adequate facilities and staff such as counsellors.

This is worrisome, especially considering that most health centres are short staffed and their standards have deteriorated beyond acceptable levels. If Government is to put up such measures, most centres will not qualify to participate in the programme, particularly in rural areas where the bulk of affected women are based. This will put the drug further out of reach for the majority of women.

To us as WASN, this is unacceptable. If Government is serious about the programme, then it should make it mandatory for all health centres that deal with expectant mothers to put up the necessary infrastructure so that they can avail Nevirapine to HIV positive pregnant women.

In addition, the Ministry should offer incentives to health centres to ensure maximum participation in the programme. These two steps will remove the stigma attached to the centres that are already involved in the programme, while ensuring that women benefit from it wherever they are.

Government should then focus chiefly on ensuring that the drug is available as and when needed.

Unfortunately however, information at hand indicates that some private medical practitioners that have the capacity to offer Nevirapine have inadequate information about the programme and do not know where or how to access the drug.

These practitioners also report that their private patients cannot access Nevirapine from some public health institutions unless they pay a Z $1 500 booking fee at those health centres, even if they intend to deliver their babies elsewhere.

We urge the Ministry to immediately look into this and avail information, as well as the drug, to all doctors and patients who need it. Nevirapine should be available at both private and public health centres for the benefit of all women regardless of their social status.

This creation of unnecessary barriers to Nevirapine and information on the drug should stop forthwith, if Government has the people’s interests at heart.

Options to Nevirapine

We acknowledge that Nevirapine, without the provision of options, only reduces the chances of parent-to-child-transmission by 50 percent.

Without the promotion of such options as Caesarian section or the dissemination of information on the risks in passing the virus through breast-milk, children who are born negative could still be infected through breast-feeding.

Government needs to ensure the provision of adequate resources to allow women to deliver by Caesarian section as well as avail supplementary feeding, to further reduce transmission of HIV from parent to child.

Breast Feeding Policy

We feel that it is important for women to have adequate information on breast-feeding and HIV in order to make informed decisions and we therefore call upon the MOH & CW to clarify its position on this issue in order to give guidance to HIV positive mothers.

In essence, WASN believes that Government should take all steps necessary to expedite accessibility of Nevirapine to HIV positive mothers throughout the country by World AIDS Day, which is 01 December this year.

It is also important for Government to immediately put in place long term health care support for those mothers, so that women are not just used as safe passages for negative babies while their health is neglected. Such measures will result in the creation of a society with both healthy mothers and children.

Having received the drug for free, it is both obligatory and sensible for Government to ensure that the drug is easily accessible to all those who need it.

The many barriers that have been put in place are both immoral and insensitive and have only served to cause unnecessary delays to women accessing the drug, while babies continue to suffer and die.

Government has done well to speak about the programme, but these words should now be translated into serious and urgent action for the good of the nation.

It is now time to act and end the politicking around Nevirapine, so that the drug can reach the intended beneficiaries at the earliest opportunity possible.

For more information, please contact:

Matilda Moyo, the Information Officer
Tele/fax: 04 – 791401/2/4
E-mail : wasn@mweb.co.zw

Visit the WASN fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP