ARV Shortages Hit Mozambique’s HIV Treatment Programme

Chronic shortages of antiretroviral drugs endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of HIV positive Mozambicans. Courtesy: Amos ZacariasBy Amos ZacariasMAPUTO, Jun 19 2014 (IPS) Chronic shortages of antiretrovirals across Mozambique are endangering the health and the lives of tens of thousands of HIV positive people on treatment. Some 454,000 people are on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, or just under one-third of the 1.6 million Mozambicans living with HIV in 2013, according to government figures. “Our patients complain they are not receiving the complete dosage of medicines,” says Judite de Jesus Mutote, president of Hi Xikanwe (“we are together,” in the local Shangaan language), a group that assists people on ARV treatment in Maputo. For ARVs to be effective, the pills must be taken every day at the same time.  Interrupting treatment has serious health consequences. “Stopping treatment  increases viral load, causes opportunistic infections, and creates resistance to the drug, with the patient needing stronger and more expensive  medicines, which sometimes the country does not have,”  Jose Enrique Zelaya, head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Mozambique, told IPS. Shortages of essential medicines happen intermittently in Mozambique, but the last six months have been especially critical for ARV supply. Press reports from across the country, but especially the central and northern provinces, tell of people going several times to ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Africa Aid Countdown to ZERO Development & Aid Editors' Choice Featured Gender Headlines Health Population Projects Regional Categories Women's Health Mozambique Option B United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Source Type: news