Ethiopia: A Will But No Way: African Agencies Lack Cash for Drugs

A year ago, Ethiopia's government announced it had licensed two local drug makers to produce low-cost antiretroviral medications (ARVs). Yet to date, not one pill has rolled off the production line. Health experts say the dearth of ARVs in Ethiopia and Africa in general represents a breakdown in the global fight against AIDS.

"The idea is to make AIDS drugs accessible to anyone who needs treatment, even people who can't pay for them," said Bunmi Makinwa, UNAIDS coordinator for Ethiopia. "That's hard for some countries like Ethiopia, which has so many problems ... AIDS doesn't get the priority it needs."

In Ethiopia, AIDS deaths have orphaned more than 1 million children, and 600 people die of AIDS-related illnesses each day. Some African countries import generic ARVs from countries like India and China, reducing the cost of drug regimens to roughly $1,200 a year -- about a tenth of the price of brand-name ARVs, but still out of reach to most Africans. Pharmaceutical companies in Ethiopia and South Africa, which is also trying to make its own AIDS drugs, confront bureaucratic and financial difficulties.

In Ethiopia, the two companies licensed to produce the drugs cannot get loans to purchase raw materials from Ethiopian banks without a purchase order from the government. Ethiopian health officials said they could not issue a purchase order until the drugs were produced.

"It's frustrating. No one has come in here and said, 'Here's a check. Get started,'" said Sudhir Sathe, pharmacist and plant manager for Bethlehem Pharmaceuticals -- one of the licensed companies -- in Addis Ababa.

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