GHANA OPENS NEW ARV PRODUCTION PLANT

A new ARVs (antiretrovirals) manufacturing plant has opened in Accra, Ghana, as part of the country's plans to expand local HIV/AIDS drug production. Under Ghanaian law, only the government will be permitted to buy the ARVs, which have met local production standards. Ghana's HIV/AIDS infection rate is estimated at 3.5%.

The West African country's government spends US$6mn per year providing medicines to roughly 2,600 HIV/AIDS patients. However, the new facility -- a joint venture with China's Adams Pharmaceuticals -- is expected to cut costs by 45%.

The UN-administered Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria still accounts for the majority of funding for ARVs in Ghana. The fund has spent US$47mn on health projects in the country to date, but is not expected to issue its assessment of the manufacturing project in the short term.