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Activists slam poor management of ARV supply
IRIN News
August 01, 2012
http://www.plusnews.org/Report/95991/ZIMBABWE-Activists-slam-poor-management-of-ARV-supply
HIV/AIDS activists
in Zimbabwe have criticized the government's poor management of
the national HIV treatment programme after an audit revealed that
life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs expired on the shelves
of public health facilities.
An audit report
released in May by the Comptroller and Auditor-General's department
found that some 15,088 bottles of various ARVs had expired between
2006 and 2010 while in stock at 15 pharmacies. The audit also showed
that 33,241 bottles of HIV drugs belonging to the Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare expired at the National Pharmaceutical Company
(Natpharm), the national distribution point for all drugs in Zimbabwe.
"This is
the most annoying issue, where a country like ours has gone through
so much in the fight against HIV/AIDS, to have drugs expire while
thousands of people are in need of ARVS," HIV activist Evelyn
Mushamba told IRIN/PlusNews.
Zimbabwe has
1.2 million people living with HIV, which translates to a prevalence
rate of 13.6 percent. Some 347,000 people are on treatment, but
600,000 are thought to need the drugs. The treatment gap has widened
since Zimbabwe adopted new UN World Health Organization treatment
guidelines, which recommend starting treatment for patients with
a CD4 count (a measure of immune strength) of 350, compared to a
CD4 count of 200 in earlier treatment guidelines.
The Comptroller
and Auditor-General's report also found that the Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare was failing to fully utilize funds allocated to
it by the treasury and the National AIDS Council (NAC), which meant
that some patients did not start treatment on time, there was poor
monitoring of patients on treatment, and poor record maintenance.
The Comptroller
and Auditor-General's report also found that the Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare was failing to fully utilize funds allocated to
it by the treasury and the National
AIDS Council (NAC), which meant that some patients did not start
treatment on time, there was poor monitoring of patients on treatment,
and poor record maintenance.
"There
is so much mismanagement taking place on the ground, it is like
somebody is experimenting on our lives. Drugs are being changed
without adequate notification and proper patient education when
switching drugs," said Mushamba, who has been living with HIV
for more than 10 years. "A lot is taking place and nobody wants
to take the responsibility - from the service providers to the so-called
policy bearers. It is frustrating."
Tinashe Mundawarara,
project manager for HIV, human rights and law at Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights, also expressed concern about the poor
management of the national HIV/AIDS programme.
"Any profile
of problems faced by people living with HIV around the country will
reveal a narrative of drug stock-outs . . . with people living
with HIV being forced to share ARVs in provinces like Bulawayo.
People living with HIV are usually forced to share ARVs when stocks
allocated are inadequate, but when you hear that drugs expiring
on the shelves, it is worrying," said Mundawarara.
"Diagnostic
equipment is also not easily accessible for people living with HIV,
with some provinces like Masvingo [in eastern Zimbabwe] having people
living with HIV going for more than two years without having a CD4
count repeated because machines are either down or unavailable."
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