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Journalism of Courage
The UN, World Bank, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and former US President Bill Clinton said on Tuesday they had set up a joint plan to buy and distribute cheap, generic AIDS drugs in poor countries.
The drugs wil overwhelmingly sourced from Indian pharmaceutical firms such as Ranabaxy and Cipla.
In a clear jab at the US government, the backers of the plan said they had negotiated discounts of 50 percent or more on HIV diagnostic tests and on drugs whose safety has been questioned by the Bush Administration.
‘‘Simply put, the Clinton Foundation will negotiate the drug prices, UNICEF will employ its procurement capacity and the Global Fund and World Bank will provide the funding,’’ Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said in a statement.
‘‘There will be protocols and administrative requirements of course, but nothing should now stand in the way of rolling out treatment to hundreds of thousands — soon to be millions — in the immediate future.’’
And they will be cheap, Lewis said.
‘‘We’re talking of fixed-dose combinations of generic drugs, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization, to be purchased overwhelmingly from generic companies based in India, at prices as low as $140 per person per year.’’ This is about a third to one-half of the lowest, discounted price now fered. — (Reuters)
