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CHINESE PATIENTS STILL PAYING FOR ARVS DESPITE GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE

November 9, 2005

Despite a recent drive by the Chinese government to provide free antiretrovirals (ARVs), HIV/AIDS sufferers in the country are being forced to pay for treatment because of excessive profiteering in the healthcare system, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Under its programme, the Chinese government aimed to supplying 30,000 HIV/AIDS patients with ARVs by the end of 2005. The scheme was funded with a US$95mn grant form the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In addition, the William J. Clinton Foundation, a charitable organisation founded by the former US president, has pledged to provide drugs for Chinese children infected with the disease, due to the shortage of paediatric ARV treatments in the country.

However, industry sources claim that Chinese doctors at local hospitals who are responsible for dispensing are "padding" bills with unnecessary drugs and services. Many doctors are also prescribing more expensive medicines rather than giving treatments away for free.

Part of the problem lies in a recent government initiative whereby hospitals were encouraged to raise drug prices by up to 15%, in order to start making profits. However, market observers claimed that the policy led to over-prescribing and the unnecessary use of medicines, as well as widespread corruption in the wholesale market.