Children with HIV best cared for, African countries will benefit



[ad_1]

Published on :

This Tuesday, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. The pandemic is still just as virulent and, despite the progress made, the objectives are far from being achieved. Among the advances, UNITAID, an international drug purchasing organization linked to WHO, announced on Tuesday an agreement that enables better care for HIV-positive children in developing countries. The cost of treatment will drop dramatically and several African countries will benefit.

From $ 480, the cost of child-friendly care in beneficiary countries will rise to $ 120 per year. This price divided by four will be enabled by an agreement signed between Unitaid and two generic drug manufacturers, Viatris and McLeods.

More precisely, it is the cost of one of the main components of the treatment, dolutegravir, which will drop as it is produced by these two companies, in the form of soluble tablets suitable for children under 20 kg, for 36 dollars a year. child, against more than 400 for the original formula.

This follows the authorization of this generic from the FDA, the American drug agency, on November 19, a few months after that of the patented product.

Six African countries affected first

DTG 10mg will be available for the first time in six African countries in the first half of 2021. Benin, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe will be the first beneficiaries, before a gradual expansion of the device.

About 1,700,000 children around the world are HIV-positive, but only half of them receive treatment and 100,000 die each year.

Covid-19 raises fears of a resumption of AIDS. This is 38 million people around the world living with the virus.

► Also worth reading : Senegal: the country relies on HIV self-tests

.

[ad_2]
Source link