ZIMBABWE PLANS TO TRIPLE NUMBER OF PEOPLE RECEIVING ARVS

The government of Zimbabwe is planning to triple the number of people enrolled in its free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment program in 2007, but activists are skeptical about the country's ability to meet this goal, the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reports.

Hyperinflation and a scarcity of foreign currency have caused shortages of drugs and medical equipment in the country, according to IRIN. But the national coordinator of the government's HIV/AIDS program told local media that the government plans to improve the lives of people living with HIV by increasing access to ARVs. "We hope that by end of 2007 about 160,000 people would have been enrolled under the ARV rollout program, and we are working very hard to ensure that this happens," he said.

Activists were quick to question this target. "It is a welcome development to hear government make such a pledge, but it would appear just too ambitious," an official with the Zimbabwe National Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS told IRIN.

A 30-day supply of ARV medication, which cost between $200 and $400 last year, now costs $300 to $500, according to IRIN. The government plans to increase the supply and lower costs by purchasing drugs manufactured by a local company, Varichem.