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<\/a><\/p>\n27 December 2011<\/p>\n
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Maputo \u2014 Mozambican Health Minister Alexandre Manguele has announced that the first anti-retroviral drugs produced in Mozambique, in partnership with Brazil, will be ready by July 2012.<\/p>\n
This will make Mozambique the first country in Africa to produce its own anti-retrovirals, the drugs that slow down the HIV virus that causes AIDS, and thus prolong the lives of HIV-positive people.<\/p>\n
Manguele, cited by the Maputo daily “Noticias”, was speaking last week, after he and Brazilian ambassador Antonio Silva signed an agreement on implementing the project to set up a factory producing anti-retrovirals and other pharmaceuticals in the southern city of Matola.<\/p>\n
The document signed envisages the transfer of technology in the area of production, industrial management and quality control of medicines. As part of the agreement, Brazil undertakes to train Mozambican staff in these areas.<\/p>\n
Manguele said that this agreement is of great advantage to Mozambicans, since there are still many thousands of HIV-positive Mozambicans who are not benefitting from anti-retroviral therapy.<\/p>\n
“We are pleased because more people will have access to the anti-retrovirals produced in Matola”, he added.<\/p>\n
Brazilian specialists will provide technical assistance to the Mozambicans working at the new factory. The technical manager of the factory is a Brazilian, and more Brazilian professionals will arrive in Matola to assist in the initial phase of the project.<\/p>\n
The project to build such a factory dates back to 2003, when the then Brazilian President, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, pledged Brazilian assistance during his first visit to Mozambique.<\/p>\n
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