MSF MAKES ABBOTT'S KALETRA AVAILABLE IN NIGERIA

Medecins Sans Frontiers' (MSF) campaign to make cheap HIV drugs available in developing countries has brought a new HIV drug to Nigeria.

Recently, MSF received a consignment of Kaletra, an effective new HIV drug. Abbott, the U.S.-based manufacturer, shipped the medicine following six months of pressure from MSF. The organization paid just $500 per person for a year's supply, compared with approximately $5,000 per person, the drug's selling price in the U.S.

Nigeria has at least 3 million people living with AIDS. Kaletra is designed to be effective despite the lack of refrigeration and, often, the food that is necessary for patients take with HIV medication.

But it could be years before Kaletra is available in other African countries, says MSF. The organization has been putting pressure on Abbot to provide the drug in needy countries and on regulatory bodies of those countries to approve the drug.

MSF also wants Nigeria to increase efforts to make cheaper drugs available to its citizens. The government has said it will provide free care for 250,000 HIV/AIDS patients, but MSF says people rural areas may be left out.