50,000 AIDS tablets awaiting Customs clearance, says Temu

THERE are about 70,000 HIV/AIDs sufferers in the country, Health and HIV/AIDS Minister Sir Puka Temu says.
Responding to questions by Rigo MP Lekwa Gure on the shortage of antiretroviral (Art) medicines, Sir Puka said 500,000 Art tablets were sitting at Customs for clearance.
He said in the country there were 26,000 HIV positive patients who were on Arts. “The prevalence on HIV is about 0.9 per cent which means that with eight million people, we have about 70,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers,” Sir Puka said.
He said only 47 per cent of people living with AIDS were on Art medicines and from the register there were 26,000 sufferers.
“I want to assure our people that since Parliament passed the budget, the medical supplies budget is one of the biggest ever allocated. We are now on a catch-up mode at the moment,” he said.
“We made an emergency order and I want to assure you that 500,000 tablets are now sitting at the Customs waiting for assessment.
“We are requesting through formal letter for the medicines to be released immediately, today or tomorrow. “We will allow our 26,000 people to be back on the drugs. So Unicef is now mobilising another three to four months worth of Art medicines.
“I’m assured by the Unicef team that they should be in the country within three weeks, but I asked them to move them in two weeks.”
Sir Puka said the emergency medicines plus supplies from Unicef would ensure at least have three months’ cover and six months buffer for all medicines in the country.
“For the general supplies like surgical items we have tendered but the time period has lapsed so the technical evaluation committee will be doing the assessment and the report will go to the Central Supplies and Tenders Board for clearing.”