The Daily News (Harare)
Staff Reporter
4 June 2002
The National Association of Social Workers of Zimbabwe has hailed the decision by the government to declare a six month emergency period to deal with the HIV/Aids virus by allowing people to use generic drugs.
In a statement on Sunday, the association said the move would bring down the cost of drugs to reasonable rates that are affordable to the ordinary man in the street.
The publicity secretary of the association, Douglas Machiridza, said with at least 2 500 people dying from Aids every week in Zimbabwe, and at least two out of every five of the country's 13 million suspected to be infected with the killer virus, the government's decision was long overdue.
"The decision will go a long way to prolong the lives of those of us who are infected by the disease.
"As an association, we believe that the time is ripe to invite technologically-developed countries such as Thailand to set up manufacturing companies for drugs such as fluconazole and anti-retrovirals like DDI, AZT, Nevirapine, Stavudine and 3TC so that they can be affordable locally," Machiridza said.
He said the association urges the government to put in place very tight monitoring and screening mechanisms so that people authorised to bring the patents of the drugs bring genuine ones.
"The government must be wary of conmen and unscrupulous middlemen dealers," Machiridza said.
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