ZIMBABWE TO SCALE UP ARV DRUG PROGRAM

Zimbabwe's government will this year triple the number of people enrolled in the public antiretroviral (ARV) drug program, increasing the number to 160,000 from roughly 50,000 last year, The Herald, the country's government-owned newspaper, has reported.

The national coordinator of the HIV, AIDS and Tuberculosis program of the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Owen Mugurungi, said the government is working hard to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.

More than 300,000 people throughout the country are in urgent need of ARVs, according to The Herald.

Mugurungi told the newspaper that some of the drugs required would be produced locally. "Some of the drugs to be used under the program will come from Varichem, and the rest will be sourced by [the United Nations Children's Fund] on behalf of the National Aids Council," he said.

Also, the Global Fund recently gave Zimbabwe a $65 million grant to help fight HIV/AIDS, according to The Herald.