BURUNDI: Free anti-AIDS drug plan announced

JOHANNESBURG, 17 Nov 2003 (PLUSNEWS) - Plans are underway in Burundi to make antiretroviral drugs freely available to people living with HIV/AIDS by December, the country's national AIDS body, Conseil National de lutte contre le Sida (CNLS) has said.

Sixty percent of the CNLS budget already goes towards HIV/AIDS care, despite previous difficulties by the council in convincing donors to fund the purchase of anti-AIDS drugs.

"Some of our donors have allowed us to buy antiretroviral drugs. Now, with the permission of the Global AIDS Fund, we will put all people living with HIV/AIDS under treatment," the technical director in the council, Dr Tharcisse Barihuta, told the UN news service, PlusNews.

Barihuta said efforts had also been made to reduce the cost of anti-AIDS drugs from US $300 per month three years ago, to the current price of $30 per month.

Research shows that globally Burundi is ranked 13th among countries most affected by HIV/AIDS, and second in central Africa.

[ENDS]