Zimbabwe AIDS Network (ZAN) has petitioned the government over the shortage of Antiretroviral drugs in the country.
This comes after the failure by the Reserve Bank Zimbabwe (RBZ) to release money that was set aside by the Global Fund to finance ARV Supply.
In a telephone interview with 263Chat, ZAN National Coordinator, Taurayi Nyandoro confirmed that Zimbabwe could face a critical shortage of ARVS.
“Over the past few months there has been noise around shortages of ARVs in some parts of the country with Mashonaland West reporting that second liner pediatric ART has been out of stock for over three months. We are sitting on a time bomb as the country is running low of ARVs stocks,” said Nyandoro.
In its petition, ZAN expressed concern that since the last quarter of 2018, the government has failed to commit US$6 million to the Global Fund in order to unlock US$400 million from the international health funder.
The organisation further noted that the current and pending shortage ART will result in people living with HIV and AIDS defaulting on taking treatment, which is a risk to their health and will result in the loss of life.
Should government fail to act, ZAN is arranging a march to try and get the attention of the government and partners on the critical issue of ARVs.
