Inter Press Service - October 22, 2002
Rosemary Nalisa

But Dr. Libertine Amathila, the Minister of Health and Social Services, has denied that the government is applying delaying tactics in making the drugs available to those in need in Namibia.

She says Namibia has signed an agreement with the government of Brazil to supply anti-retroviral drugs to prevent HIV transmission from parent-to-child.

"We need proper planning to ensure a continuous supply of medicine to each patient who start taking the drugs, as any interruption in the treatment will only lead to the development and spread of resistant virus strains, which are more difficult to treat," says Amathila.

Namibia, which is one of the hardest hit by the epidemic in Africa, is lagging behind in making anti-retroviral drugs available to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Namibia recorded its first HIV case in 1989 and since then more than 230,000 people have been infected, out of a population of 1.8 million. Last year alone, Namibia recorded 30,000 AIDS-related deaths. But, AIDS support groups believe that the figure is just the tip of the iceberg.

Only a few pharmacies in Namibia stock anti-retroviral drugs, but they are very expensive, costing between 40 and 200 U.S. dollars a month. NGOs believe that the shortage can be reversed if the government acquires cheaper generic drugs.

Namibian health authorities also attribute the delays, to make anti-retroviral drugs available, to lack of money. Namibia needs more than 360 million U.S. dollars for the drugs annually.

The ministry of health's annual budget is only about 140 million U.S. dollars. As a result, the government sends blood tests to South Africa for viral load count due to a lack of advanced laboratories in Namibia.

The ministry of health says the test, which costs about 160 U.S. dollars per viral load count, is draining its budget. Recently, the government privatised its laboratories so as to enhance their capacities to generate revenue and afford advanced equipment to carry out tests, including the viral load count.

Amathila says, despite all the setbacks, Namibian hospitals are well equipped to treat opportunistic diseases related to AIDS.

The government also has launched a pilot programme on the prevention of HIV transmission from parent-to-child. The programme, which began in June, is being administered to 300 pregnant women in the capital Windhoek and the northern town of Oshakati. After delivery, mothers and their babies receive doses of preventative anti-retroviral medicine called Nevirapine.

Lucy Steinitz, coordinator of Catholic AIDS Action, a Windhoek-based NGO which offers spiritual and material support to people living with HIV/AIDS, has urged both the government and NGOS to work together to make the drugs available.

"The tragedy is that people are dying prematurely, whose lives could be prolonged, whose children should not have been orphaned so soon. There is no doubt in my mind that the government need to move more quickly and non-governmental organisations need to speak with one voice to ensure that lives are spared. It is only through working together that we can fight the pandemic," says Steinitz.

Nepeti Nicanor, a local Researcher and Consultant on HIV/AIDS, says the government alone should not be blamed for the slow progress in making AIDS drugs available.

She says NGOS are partly to blame as they do not even make attempts to visit villages where most patients are taken to be looked after by their relatives when they develop full-blown AIDS.

Nicanor also has expressed concern at the failure by both government and NGOS to make available more information on HIV/AIDS and anti-retroviral drugs in local languages.

"Some of us claim to be involved in HIV/AIDS education, but we have never slept in a village. What value can you add if you don't know the people you are working for and whom you are claiming to be helping? We need to bring ourselves to the level of those people and stay with them so that they can have trust in us and open up," she says.

The quarrel between the government and NGOS will only affect people living with HIV/AIDS, says Nicanor. She believes that if the government and NGOS start working together they will be able to identify potential drug companies and reach common ground on how to make anti-retroviral drugs available to the needy.(END/IPS/AF/HD/HE/RN/MN/02)

021022
IP021019

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2002. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .