President Yoweri Museveni attended the opening Monday of a factory in Uganda producing low-cost drugs to treat HIV/AIDS and malaria.
The factory in the capital Kampala is a 50-50 partnership between privately owned local manufacturer Quality Chemicals and Indian pharmaceuticals giant Cipla.
Quality Chemicals marketing director George Baguma said that the locally produced drug would probably cost less than 15 US dollar a month but he did not have an exact figure. Baguma said the factory was an entirely private sector initiative and is expected to turn a modest profit.
But he added that it would seek support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The factory could eventually sell drugs to neighboring countries.
Locally produced Anti-RetroVirals would also help prevent bureaucratic delays in and cases of AIDS drugs expiring on the shelves after poor coordination between aid agencies and governments, he said.
Locally produced anti-retroviral HIV drugs and anti-malaria drugs should be available by January, Ugandas Health minister Stephen Malinga said.
Malinga noted that the aim was to reduce Ugandas reliance on expensive imports of vital HIV/AIDS and malaria treatments from foreign countries. The challenge is to make sure that the production is followed by a good distribution system that makes sure that the drug can reach all corners of the East African country.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
