Malawi Runs Out of AIDS Drugs Due to Funding Glitch
Hospitals in Malawi have run out of antiretroviral drugs for AIDS patients because the state treasury delayed depositing the necessary money into the state-sponsored fund designated to purchase the medications, Agence France-Presse reports. Wesley Sangala, chief technical adviser to the health ministry, did not give a reason for the glitch but said that the government is treating the "serious matter with urgency so as not to put the AIDS patients at higher risk," adding that it is "extremely crucial" to get the patients back on medication "as soon as possible." About 400 people receive the drugs through Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, the nation's largest hospital. The fund was established last year to secure the drugs and provide them at a reduced price of $38 per patient per month. An estimated one in 10 Malawians has HIV (Agence France-Presse, 1/31).
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