Tanzania To Spend $1.8M To Distribute Antiretroviral Drugs Free-of-Charge
The Tanzanian government has released $1.8 million to the country's Ministry of Health to purchase antiretroviral drugs for distribution to HIV/AIDS patients at no cost under its four-year treatment program, Xinhua News Agency reports. The distribution of the antiretrovirals originally was scheduled to take place in March but was deferred until October because of delays in the release of the funds, according to Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua News Agency, 8/23). Tanzanian Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye on Friday said that at least 30,000 of the approximately 2.2 million HIV-positive people in the country will have access to antiretrovirals by 2005, adding that the government has "committed itself to the fight against HIV/AIDS." The country plans to increase the number of HIV/AIDS patients who receive antiretrovirals to 220,000 between 2005 and 2006. The majority of Tanzanians live on less than $1 per day, while the average daily cost of antiretrovirals is more than $1 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/23).
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