S Africa deal with India for cheap AIDS drugs

The governments of South Africa and India have signed a declaration ofintent to cooperate on health care issues, as a first move to obtaining cheaper HIV/AIDS drugs.

According to South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the declaration is aimed at fostering cooperation concerning the registration and procurement of drugs and community-based HIV/AIDS programs. In a statement, the Minister said that, after having "emerged victorious from a long legal battle with multinational pharmaceutical companies which has held back our desire to explore options to access affordable medicines for more than three years," South Africa is now "moving as fast as we can to establish partnerships that are necessary for us to access affordable medicine so that we can deal with the variety of diseases that continue to threaten the lives of our people in southern Africa."

The South African government was particularly interested in India's achievements in promoting local drug manufacture, said the Minister, adding that it would be discussing the possibility of transferring technology and establishing facilities to manufacture cheaper drugs in the southern African region.