Cash-strapped Zimbabwe is running out of Aids drugs, with less than a month’s supply of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) left for 20 000 patients on a government treatment programme. “We understand that drugs are competing with other items, like fuel, for foreign currency, but the picture is not encouraging,” said National Pharmaceutical Company boss Charles Mwaramba.
“We have been trying to contact the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe for decent amounts of foreign currency, but that has not been successful,” he added.
The central bank gave the company US$106 000 to import drugs from January to March this year, but the company required US$7,4million to fulfil all its needs, said Mwaramba.
Last year, the Health Ministry announced plans to provide free ARVs to 100 000 Zim-babweans by year end, but the government later acknowledged that it would not meet its target because of foreign currency shortages. — AFP