"); NewWindow.document.close(); return false; }

Import tax hurting AIDS drug access - US
Tuesday 3 May 2005
Home About PlusNews Country Profiles News Briefs Special Reports Subscribe Archive IRINnews
Search    

Regions
Africa
East Africa
Great Lakes
Horn of Africa
Southern Africa
·Angola
·Botswana
·Comoros
·Lesotho
·Madagascar
·Malawi
·Mauritus
·Mozambique
·Namibia
·South Africa
·Swaziland
·Zambia
·Zimbabwe
West Africa
RSSyndication
RSS - News Briefs

Features
PlusNews E-mail Subscription
 

KENYA: Import tax hurting AIDS drug access - US


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]


JOHANNESBURG, 4 February (PLUSNEWS) - The US ambassador to Kenya, William Bellamy, has urged the East African Community to lift the import duty on antiretroviral medication.

A new 10 percent tax levied by the region's customs union is impairing the availability of anti-AIDS drugs and was cause for concern, said the East African Treatment Access Movement, an AIDS advocacy group.

At a meeting with Kenyan Vice President Moody Awori, Bellamy said anti-AIDS drugs were not luxury goods, and could prolong the lives of scores of people.

The BBC quoted Bellamy as saying: "I urge the government of Kenya to join forces with the governments in Tanzania and Uganda to permanently and immediately exempt antiretrovirals from duty, regardless of who is importing them."

[ENDS]

MORE NEWS BRIEFS

 
Recent KENYA Reports
Health centre to treat HIV/AIDS patients inaugurated,  28/Apr/05
New tax jeopardises treatment access,  10/Feb/05
Fight against HIV/AIDS bearing fruit, but challenges remain,  18/Jan/05
HIV/AIDS prevalence down to seven percent, says gov't,  1/Dec/04
Global Fund approves funding proposals for AIDS, malaria and TB,  19/Nov/04
Links
Le portail d'informations générales de la Côte d’Ivoire
Sida Info Services
Le Fonds mondial de lutte contre le SIDA, la tuberculose et le paludisme
Le Réseau Afrique 2000
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria

PlusNews does not take responsibility for info in links supplied.

[Back] [Home Page]

Click here to send any feedback, comments or questions you have about PlusNews Website or if you prefer you can send an Email to Webmaster

Copyright © IRIN 2005
The material contained on www.PlusNews.org comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
All PlusNews material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.