Official Count Is Free HIV Drugs For Over 380,000 Malawians

AIDS-ravaged Malawi has 383,000 people on free anti-retrovirals (ARVs), up from 5,000 when the programme started seven years ago, health authorities said Wednesday.

"I am pleased to report that 74,000 new patients were put on anti-retroviral therapy putting the number of patients ever started on ART at 383,000," Thomas Bisika, director of the National AIDS Commission said in a statement.

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Around 14 percent of the country's 13 million citizens are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to official figures.

Malawi launched the free anti-AIDS drugs scheme in 2004 with 5,000 initial beneficiaries.

The poor southern African nation has 90,000 new annual infections, largely among young people and women, according to UNAIDS.

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The World Bank gave Malawi a $30-million (20.3-million-euro) grant two years ago to prevent HIV infections and speed up the roll-out of free drugs.

Source-AFP

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