|
|
AFRICA: Vatican condemns high price of anti-AIDS drugs
JOHANNESBURG, 29 January (PLUSNEWS) - The Vatican on Thursday condemned the "genocidal action" of drug manufacturers who made massive profits from the sale of antiretroviral drugs in developing countries.
It expressed concern that millions of HIV-positive people in sub-Saharan Africa were dying because they still could not afford the drugs.
Father Angelo D'Agostino, who heads an AIDS orphanage in Kenya, was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying: "Today, at least 400 people die in Kenya every day because of AIDS. Yet in Europe and North America it is no longer a fatal disease, it is only a chronic disease."
The church blasted the companies for their "lack of social conscience" and called for global public pressure to force them to lower their prices.
[ENDS]
MORE NEWS BRIEFS
|
|
|
|
[Back] [Home Page]
Click to send any feedback, comments or questions you have about IRIN's Website or if you prefer you can send an Email to
The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004
|