ETHIOPIA: Partnership to provide free anti-AIDS drugs

Ethiopia and US drug giant Pfizer have signed an agreement to provide one of its branded medicines free of charge to people living with HIV/AIDS, the health ministry has announced.

Under the deal, the drug manufacturer will supply 50,000 Diflucan tablets for treating Cryptococcal Meningitis and Esophageal Candidiasis, both common opportunistic infections among HIV-positive people.

The ministry's head of department for disease prevention and control, Alemayehu Seifu, was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying: "The programme will also open an opportunity to move forward and step up public-private sector partnership in response to one of the most daunting public health problems in Ethiopia."

The government will distribute the drugs at 16 selected public hospitals providing care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS, Seifu added.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews, Other,

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