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State to treble beneficiaries of ARV rollout programme
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
January 01, 2007

http://www1.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=13370&cat=1&livedate=1/1/2007

GOVERNMENT will this year treble the number of people on the public anti-retroviral rollout programme to 160 000 from about 50 000 last year, an official has said.

National co-ordinator of the HIV and Aids and Tuberculosis programme in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Owen Mugurungi, said the Government was working hard to improve the lives of people living with HIV and Aids.

"We hope that by the end of 2007, about 160 000 people would have been enrolled under the ARV rollout programme and we are working hard to ensure that this happens," he said.

More than 300 000 people are in urgent need of ARVs throughout the country.

Not everyone who is HIV positive takes ARVs.

Doctors recommend that people living with HIV and Aids, who have a CD4 count of 200 or less, should take the life-prolonging drugs.

Dr Mugurungi said some of the drugs required would be sourced locally.

The country's main manufacturer of ARVs, Varichem, requires at least US$1 million or $250 million per month to import raw materials.

"Some of the drugs to be used under the programme will come from Varichem and the rest will be sourced by Unicef on behalf of the National Aids Council," he said.

Dr Mugurungi said the money to be used to purchase the drugs would come from the Aids Levy while some would come from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and the Global Fund.

He was, however, not in a position to say exactly how much money would be used for the programme.

Finance Minister Dr Herbert Murerwa announced in his 2007 National Budget statement that 70 percent of funds collected under the Aids Levy would be channelled towards the procurement of ARVs.

About 18 percent of the country's population is HIV positive.

The United Nations Global Fund for HIV and Aids, tuberculosis and malaria two weeks ago gave Zimbabwe a US$65 million grant to help fight these ailments.

The money was from the country's application for funds from the first and fifth round.

The ARV rollout programme has been affected by the shortage of personnel, equipment and foreign currency.

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