Ethiopia Says $270M Needed for Drug Importation, Infrastructure Improvements
The Ethiopian National HIV/AIDS Protection and Control Council said this week that it will cost $270 million to import antiretroviral drugs and improve the country's infrastructure to allow it to offer the drugs, Xinhua News reports (Xinhua News, 4/25). Last August, the Ethiopian health ministry signed an accord with unnamed international pharmaceutical companies to import 10 antiretroviral drugs at discounted prices (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/8/01). Yigeremu Abebe, member of the board of consultants to the council, said that the $270 million requested would be used to import drugs, acquire facilities, establish laboratories and train Ethiopian medical professionals to dispense the drugs. Abebe said that the money is expected to come from the government, NGOs, donors, drug makers and the individuals receiving the drugs (Xinhua News, 4/25).
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