Swaziland AIDS Activists March for Drugs

Swaziland must not let its current financial crisis interrupt the supply of medications to HIV patients, about 100 AIDS activists demanded Thursday in Mbabane at the finance ministry. The tiny kingdom last year saw a 60 percent drop in revenues from the regional customs union -- its main source of income. It has drained its foreign reserves to pay salaries and cannot afford fuel for government vehicles to distribute supplies. "We are seeing the health sector crumbling," said Vusi Nxumalo of the Swaziland National Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. About 64,000 people depend on state-supplied AIDS drugs in Swaziland, where one in four adults are HIV-infected. "Government is doing its best to make sure that [antiretrovirals] are available," responded Health Minister Benedict Xaba. "We won't be scaling down."

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