Can you believe this?

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum Members,

I don't know whether I should be happy or sad. Indian companies are making cheap

drugs in Kenya and our ambassoder blesses the occassion. I am glad

that they are helping the Kenyans. But what about the Indians? The NACO

policy says we have no money to make or buy drugs.

Of course, we are busy buying arms from all over the world, of course, we have

to wage an unnecessary war with Pakistan. Of course, we have no time now to look

after the patients, anyway they will die. Of course, we have many really

important things to do, like making a new nuclear device.

In fact, we have to make a new nuclear umbrella to thwart the Pakistany nuclear

attack. Moreover, no one will appreciate if we save Indians, so let us go abroad

and do it. Of course we love our (distant) neighbours.

When we win the war, let us garland our leaders for saving the dead.

with fury

Maitreya

E-mail: <maitreya@...>

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Nairobi to Make HIV/Aids Drugs

The East African Standard (Nairobi)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200205200142.html

May 20, 2002, Alfred Oduor

Three pharmaceutical firms from India are set to begin manufacturing

anti-retroviral drugs in the country.

India's High Commissioner to Kenya, Mr Rajiv Bhatia, says this is

meant to avail cheap anti-retroviral drugs to Aids patients in the

country. He said plans are already at an advanced stage to have the three

companies begin operations in Kenya as soon as possible. Speaking in Kisumu at

the weekend, Bhatia said a Kenyan delegation led by the Public Health Minister,

Prof Sam Ongeri, has already visited India to assess the viability of such an

arrangement.

He said there was need for concerted efforts between the two

countries in combating the Aids scourge which is impacting negatively

on the economies of both countries. " Just like Kenya, India is also

groaning under the heavy burden of the Aids pandemic. "

The high commissioner said the time for being sympathetic to Aids

victims was over and that concrete programmes must now be devised to

minimise the effects of the scourge. " Sympathising with Aids victims

is not enough. We need to act fast before the disease wipes out the

entire human race, " he said. He advised Kenyans to take advantage of the

existing good relations between the two countries saying there are no trade

restrictions against Kenyan exports to India.

He said Kenya stands to benefit a great deal from India in the area

of pharmaceuticals, information technology and the small business

enterprise. Meanwhile, the International Candlelight Programme of HIV/Aids was

marked in Nairobi yesterday to pay tribute to the 1.2 million Kenyans

who have succumbed to the pandemic.

And lack of affordable anti-retrovirals for treatment of opportunistic

infections was cited as one of the causes of the escalating deaths.

Nairobi University don, Prof Ngugi, said due to lack of

policies on access to cheap drugs, most of those infected were dying

within two years of being diagnosed.

Ngugi, who is the chairperson of the Society of Women and Aids in

Kenya, said the rate of HIV transmission and the impact of Aids at

all levels of society has become explosive.

Delivering a keynote address during the memorial at the Kenyatta

International Conference Centre, the don called upon the Government,

politicians, religious leaders, and corporate executives to commit

all their resources and time to address the problem.

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