FDAnews
www.fdanews.com/articles/84504-zimbabwe-expands-local-arv-manufacturing

ZIMBABWE EXPANDS LOCAL ARV MANUFACTURING

February 13, 2006

HIV/AIDS patients in Zimbabwe are to benefit from a new antiretroviral manufacturing facility. The unit is now the country's second local ARV production facility, and the move is expected to initially benefit 3,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers.

Drug manufacturing in Zimbabwe has been badly affected by rampant inflation and economic disaster. Meanwhile, a lack of foreign currency has made importing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) prohibitively expensive. The procurement of APIs and packaging has also been made more difficult by customs duties, although these have now been removed for the raw materials needed for ARVs. In order to increase supplies of foreign currency, Zimbabwean drugmakers are also attempting to boost exports, although this trade still remains small-scale.

Presently, only 20,000 people in Zimbabwe are receiving ARVs. The government expects to increase this to 90,000 by March, although considering the low priority HIV/AIDS was given in the latest health budget, it is yet to be seen whether these targets will be met.