Lack of Aids drugs will kill 15,000, warns charity

About 15,000 Aids victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo are likely to die waiting for lifesaving drugs in the next three years, Médecins Sans Frontières warned yesterday in a report describing "horrific" healthcare access.

About 85 per cent of Aids patients in need of anti-retroviral medication are not getting any, according to MSF. Medical co-ordinator Anja De Weggheleire said many more than 15,000 people could die, because most victims did not know they were infected.

MSF blamed Congo's government for giving little priority to Aids, and the withdrawal of donors. The leading supplier of ARV drugs in Congo, the Global Fund, is reducing funding because countries that finance it have not kept their promises.

AP