Africa’s HIV/AIDS Treatment Hits $12b

There are indications that Africa will need at least $12billion from now to 2015 to respond to issues of HIV/ADIS. This amount is $4billion higher than the curent spending in the region.

The hint was given by the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS UNAIDS at the 18th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, just as a Nigerian scientist, Professor Oluwole Makinde received the 2011 Kwame Nkrumah? award of excellence in science from the African Union .
UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé who disclosed this, urged African governments to embark on a greater share of AIDS investments in their own countries and across the region.

Addressing an audience of Heads of State and Government attending the AU summit, Sidibe said financing a sustainable response to the HIV epidemic in Africa will require home grown and innovative solutions that meet the needs of the African people.

Quoting a new UNAIDS issues brief titled “AIDS dependency crisis: sourcing African solutions, he noted that an estimated two-thirds of AIDS expenditures in Africa come from international funding sources.

Sidibe said, ”Records show that the vast majority of life-saving antiretroviral medicines consumed in Africa are imported from generic manufacturers, while the costs of HIV drug regimens have declined significantly in recent years. They remain high and unsustainable. UNAIDS has therefore insisted that prices for the drugs must be further reduced to reach all people eligible for treatment.

“Africa is too dependent on external resources, especially for the AIDS response. This is a source of great risk and potential instability. The status quo cannot be sustained—it is time for a new development paradigm that is developed and owned by the leaders of Africa”, the executive directir added.

He stressed that the region must begin to develop centers of excellence that could catalyze the local production of high-quality HIV medicines and build Africa’s knowledge-based economy.