Rationing of ARVs worries TALC

Felix Mwanza

Felix Mwanza

Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC) has expressed concern with reports that people on HIV treatment are being rationed on drugs to extent of being given other temporal drugs.

In a statement, TALC National Director Felix Mwanza says on a day when the World was commemorating AIDS Day, people living with HIV receiving treatment from most public health facilities were being given drugs for a week and in worst scenarios for three days.

Mr. Mwanza says when pressed hard to explain why health facilities had resorted to such options, authorities have indicated that they had supplied the usual supply of drugs to health institutions to administer to people living with HIV.

He says the situation is now worrisome as this has sent people living with HIV who are on treatment into panic mode.

Mr Mwanza states that  the provision of lower dosages in the interim means that the pill burden is more and may create confusion in the manner people consume these extra drugs.

He says in one instance, one client who is on Zidovudine, Mamuvidine and Alluviar had to be given Zidovudin, Lamuvidine and Atazanavir to take for a month and only revert to Alluviar in a month’s time if the drug will be available.

The TALC National Director has since asked the government to tell the nation why they are rationing the drugs when in the past authorities have been saying they have more than enough drugs.

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