Aids drug rollout continues: Govt
Veronica Mohapeloa
1 June 2004
The government says its programme to provide antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people living with Aids in the country - the Comprehensive Plan for the Management, Care and Treatment of Aids - has not been suspended.
So far, all nine provinces have identified sites at which the drugs will be administered to people whose CD4 count is hovering around 200.
The Department of Health has dismissed a media report that the programme had been suspended. In the report, the head of the HIV unit in the department, Nono Simelela, was quoted as saying that the government had instructed provinces not to put children on treatment until it was clear that the ARVs could be supplied without disruption.
Departmental spokesperson Sibani Mngadi, responding to the report, said that what provinces were in fact advised to do was to ensure they had adequate, sustainable supplies of drugs before they increased the number of children currently on treatment.
Mngadi
said the department had initiated an interim measure to procure ARVs through a quotation system, while the process of awarding the main tender for a sustainable supply of ARVs was being completed.
"Government has made resources available for the procurement of ARVs", Mngadi said. "However, the availability of these drugs, particularly their paediatric versions, is limited in the country," he added, noting that most of the active ingredients were obtained from India.
"ARVs are a lifelong treatment and any interruption in supplies can lead to development of resistance among people on treatment", Mngadi said.
The department is finalising the main tender process through which antiretroviral drugs can be provided in a more sustainable manner for treatment of people living with Aids, said Mngadi.
More than 40 drug companies and suppliers have expressed interest in supplying antiretroviral drugs for this programme.
"Ten companies have been short-listed
based on the detailed proposals they submitted to the department", Mngadi said. "Five of these companies are research-based and five are generics manufacturing companies."
The department is also negotiating with these companies to secure the best possible prices and a sustainable supply of antiretroviral drugs to support the programme across the country in the long-term.
"We hope the short-listed companies will support this process by offering the most competitive prices so that the tender can be awarded soon."
Minister briefs media
Addressing the media in Parliament last week, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the tender process for ARVs was complex and lengthy; this was why interim arrangements were made for provinces to purchase initial supplies of the drugs.
"As a result, provincial health departments have taken a cautious approach to initiating treatment, knowing that it is dangerous to interrupt it", she
said.
However, it was expected that the number of generic drugs suppliers would increase soon, the minister said, as the Medicines Control Council concluded the medicine registration process and more manufacturers secured voluntary licences.
In terms of the general supply of the drugs, Tshabalala-Msimang expressed satisfaction with the progress made, saying Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape were in the lead, with a large number of patients on treatment.
While the other provinces had not yet begun providing the anti-Aids treatment, they were "actively" enrolling patients.
"This means conducting tests, counselling and educating patients in preparation for ART, a process that takes several weeks", the minister said.
Tshabalala-Msimang said that in Gauteng about 940 patients were receiving antiretrovirals, while in the Western Cape about 2 500 patients were on the drugs, including patients who were previously treated under other
programmes.
In KwaZulu-Natal, 153 patients, plus those being treated on established programmes funded from sources outside the public health sector, were receiving the drugs.
Source: BuaNews
| 
