Ministry of Health stocks enough AIDS drugs
Jan 10, 2009
THE Ministry of Health has allayed fears of any shortages or stock outs of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in 2009.
By Anthony Bugembe
THE Ministry of Health has allayed fears of any shortages or stock outs of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in 2009.
“We now have enough ARVs in stock. In fact we are trying to find ways of ensuring that they do not expire but get to those who need them.
That is why we have even put on hold some partners who have expressed willingness to donate ARVs,†said Dr.
Zainabu Akol, the head of the HIV/AIDS Control Programme in the health ministry.
According to health ministry guidelines, donations of drugs that expire within 12 months are not accepted. In September 2007, drugs worth sh1.65b, including ARVs, were reported about to expire at the National Medical Stores (NMS) and drugs worth sh1.2b had expired.
In August 2008, there was shortage of the life-prolonging AIDS drugs at the Ministry of Health. A total of 66,950 patients are on the programme and of these, 2,498 are children. The shortage was averted after purchases and donations.
A health ministry official told Saturday Vision last month that some ARV sites had not yet received their stocks. “We are working hard to ensure that all sites receive their stocks,†the official said.
Dr Sam Zaramba, the Director General of Health Services, said that any shortage of ARVs reported in the country now may be due to irresponsible managers.
Antiretroviral therapy, the medication that suppresses HIV, first became available in Uganda in 1998. On average, 1,500 patients are enrolled on Anti-Retroviral Therapy every month.
Currently, 156,000 Ugandans are on ARVs, while about 1.1 million are living with HIV.
THE Ministry of Health has allayed fears of any shortages or stock outs of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in 2009.
“We now have enough ARVs in stock. In fact we are trying to find ways of ensuring that they do not expire but get to those who need them.
That is why we have even put on hold some partners who have expressed willingness to donate ARVs,†said Dr.
Zainabu Akol, the head of the HIV/AIDS Control Programme in the health ministry.
According to health ministry guidelines, donations of drugs that expire within 12 months are not accepted. In September 2007, drugs worth sh1.65b, including ARVs, were reported about to expire at the National Medical Stores (NMS) and drugs worth sh1.2b had expired.
In August 2008, there was shortage of the life-prolonging AIDS drugs at the Ministry of Health. A total of 66,950 patients are on the programme and of these, 2,498 are children. The shortage was averted after purchases and donations.
A health ministry official told Saturday Vision last month that some ARV sites had not yet received their stocks. “We are working hard to ensure that all sites receive their stocks,†the official said.
Dr Sam Zaramba, the Director General of Health Services, said that any shortage of ARVs reported in the country now may be due to irresponsible managers.
Antiretroviral therapy, the medication that suppresses HIV, first became available in Uganda in 1998. On average, 1,500 patients are enrolled on Anti-Retroviral Therapy every month.
Currently, 156,000 Ugandans are on ARVs, while about 1.1 million are living with HIV.