MOZAMBIQUE: Brazil to help build ARV factory

A Brazilian delegation will visit Mozambique this month to finalise plans for building a factory to produce generic antiretroviral drugs.

Mozambican health minister Francisco Songane was reported as saying that the project will benefit not only Mozambique, but also neighbouring countries who will benefit from the drugs.

The initiative follows Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to Mozambique last year, during which he promised his government would start mobilising funds immediately for the US $20 million factory.

With a population of 17 million, Mozambique has an adult HIV prevalence rate of 16 percent and approximately 700 new infections daily.

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