Former President Bill Clinton announced Monday that his Foundations HIV/AIDS Initiative will deliver antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 10.000 children in more than ten nations by the end of 2005.
This program approximately doubles the number of children on ART in the developing world outside Brazil and Thailand.
To make this possible, the William J. Clinton Foundation has worked with a major pharmaceutical company to reduce the price of pediatric medicines by more than 50 percent. These medicines are normally four to five times as expensive as adult HIV/AIDS medicines.
One of the Foundations first steps towards achieving this goal is to purchase and donate drugs in substantial quantities to those countries to which it already provides technical assistance.
The Foundation has partnered with Cipla, a drug manufacturer based in India, to lower the prices of pediatric medicines. The Foundation will offer these prices to others who purchase through this program.
The first order for medicine has been placed and will reach China, the Dominican Republic, Lesotho, Rwanda and Tanzania this spring. In May, children in China will begin to receive treatment as a result of this program.
– One in every six AIDS deaths each year is a child, former President Clinton said adding:
– Yet children represent less than one of every thirty persons getting treatment in developing countries today. These children need hope, and we know what must be done. The global community has the means to save many lives, and we must meet that responsibility as quickly as can.
Kilde: www.clintonfoundation.org
