Brasília, 7/21/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - A Brazilian team of technicians who work with AIDS combat is making a swing through Africa. Today they arrive at their second stop: Mozambique. They are verifying the possibility of the country producing its own generic retroviral drugs.

According to Paulo Meireles, who works with STD/AIDS at the Ministry of Health, following the visit an analysis of the situation will be made and a project drawn up for the manufacture of the drugs, transfer of technology and training of lab personnel.

Mozambique is a country that has been hit very hard by the AIDS pandemic. It is estimated that 15% of the sexually-active population has the disease. Although other countries have higher rates of prevalence (it is 36% in Botswana), they have much smaller populations. Mozambique, with a population of almost 20 million, has a similar problem to that in South Africa (population of 40 million, prevalence rate of 20%).

The Brazilian government is actively seeking to assist Mozambique find financing for its generic drug program. According to Meireles, one suggestion is to convert the country's remaining debt of some US$15 million with Brazil so that it can be used to build laboratories (the Cardoso administration forgave 95% of Mozambique's debt - the remaining 5% is "unforgivable").

Meanwhile, as the possibility of laboratories is being studied, a total of 100 Mozambicans who have AIDS will begin treatment with Brazilian assistance as part of a broad program using Brazilian-produced anti-AIDS cocktails. Besides Mozambique, the program is underway in Namíbia, Burundi, Kenya, Burkina Fasso, in África, and El Salvador, Guiana, Dominican Republic, Columbia and Paraguay in the Americas. (AB)