Missing the Target #5: Improving AIDS Drug Access ... - CD8 T cells

ZIMBABWEAccording to the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), individualdrug importers had also flooded the local market with ARVs, which were beingsold from unlicensed locations. This raised concerns by MCAZ that some drugsmight have been subjected to inappropriate and hazardous storage conditions,thereby affecting their quality and effectiveness, which would put patients at risk fordeveloping drug resistance. Calls by government officials to only purchase drugsfrom authorized selling points proved futile because patients have limited optionsdue to shortages and the high cost of drugs.Price controlsIn an attempt to rein in galloping inflation, the government in July 2007 frozethe price of most goods retroactive to their price a few weeks earlier. Businesses,including pharmacies, were forced to reduce their prices, in some instances by up to50 percent.The subsequent effect was an acute shortage of goods as customers hoardedproducts and businesses stopped restocking. Most goods however, becameavailable on the parallel market through unauthorized dealers at extremely highprices. The prohibitive cost of ARVs and, in some cases, unavailability at privatepharmacies fuelled the illegal market for the life-prolonging drugs.Although the controls were lifted in the pharmaceutical industry in October 2007,businesses were still suffering from the consequences of the decision. Companiesthat sold their products at imposed low prices were having difficulties raisingmoney to restock products that had to be procured at higher new prices. By endof October, most pharmacies still had empty shelves and were not sure whenoperations would normalize. This also affected availability of food, a vital supportfor those on treatment.Furthermore, pharmacies could not import ARVs directly due to protracted foreigncurrency shortages.Water shortagesZimbabwe is experiencing erratic water supplies. This situation is particularlyproblematic in the country’s second largest city, Bulawayo,which has been severelyaffected by drought. This is worsened by mismanagement of water resources bythe Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), which has taken over wateradministration from local authorities.Some residents have gone as long as three months without safe tap water and aresometimes forced to resort to unhygienic wells. AIDS patients under home-basedcare have been severely affected and are at risk of contracting other illnessesassociated with poor hygiene, such as diarrhea. Cases of cholera and diarrhea havebeen recently reported.23