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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Aug 19 2011 - 08:02:23 EDT
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/762990
Eritrea to buy ARVs from Uganda Thursday, 18th August, 2011
*By Anne Mugisa*
ERITREAN President Isaias Afwerki yesterday gave a major boost to Uganda�s
ARV pharmaceutical firm when he announced that his country would import the
AIDS drugs from here.
Efwerki, who visited the Luzira-based Qual�ity Chemicals plant which
manufactures ARVs and anti-malarials, did not say the amount of ARVs Eritrea
would buy.
�We would like to buy as much as possible from you... we will put this as
one of our priorities for trade and investment with Uganda.�
Eritrea is one of the few African countries with the lowest rates of HIV
infec�tions which statistics put at less than 1% of the coun�try�s
population.
Afwerki commended President Yoweri Museveni for enabling the establish�ment
of the ARV drug fac�tory.
He said ARVs are expen�sive yet there are many peo�ple in Africa in need of
the drug.
He said although the in�fection rates are less than 1% in Eritrea, the
numbers that are living with the dis�ease are posing a challenge to the
country.
The Luzira factory sup�plies drugs to several coun�tries in the East African
region, including South Su�dan and Khartoum.
According to the Quality Chemicals officials, the fac�tory also manufactures
six million anti-malarial tab�lets a day, which they said, could serve
Uganda and other African countries.
Statistics put the number of people who die due to malaria at 400 daily, but
the officials said the number had reduced since manu�facturing started.
Statistics put reported malaria deaths in 2007 at 47,000, which translate to
130 deaths a day. Afwerki also visited the Sameer Diary and Agricul�ture
industries in Industrial Area where he invited the proprietors to go and
com�pete in the Eritrean market.
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