HIV scandal as government chefs divert medication

By Tererai Karimakwenda
03 February 2006

The poor people in Zimbabwe who are afflicted with the HIV/AIDs virus are slowly dying because government chefs are interfering with their treatment by blocking medication and diverting it for their own use. A recipient of anti-retroviral drugs, who also works for a charity organisation, revealed on Friday that many beneficiaries of their programme are becoming very ill and dying because they are not being allowed to distribute drugs and nutritional food that is donated to the poor. She explained how in some cases top officials replaced the ARV pills with placebos that do not work. This confirms a report by the ZimOnline news site which this week claimed top ZANU PF and government officials are using their status to acquire anti-retroviral drugs meant for public hospitals.

Our source is a victim of this scam herself. She said she almost lost her life just weeks ago after government officials ordered the charitable organisation that was helping her to stop. She tried getting the drugs from Harare Hospital but she was told she needed a letter from the ruling party officials in her area. Slowly getting weak due to poor nutrition, she stayed home believing she was going to die, until a group of farmers put their money together and paid a private doctor to test her and recommend a new course of treatment. This process alone can cost anything from Z$350,000 and Z$500,000 and those without anyone to help with the costs just give up and die at home.

According to Zimonline, MDC legislator for Kwekwe and chairman of the Parliament portfolio committee on health, Blessing Chebundo said: "Those who are politically connected are abusing their authority to get the ARVs ahead of the intended beneficiaries. It is an issue I actually plan to bring to the House and give it public attention because the public's money is being abused." The story also said these officials are diverting the drugs for their personal use as they are affected by HIV/AIDs themselves.
Zimonline said Health Minister David Parirenyatwa confirmed receiving complaints from non-governmental organisations that senior government and ZANU PF officials were abusing the state-funded free ARV supply programme. But Parirenyatwa denied the allegations of corruption involving government officials and insisted the scheme was being run transparently. We were not able to contact Dr. Parirenyatwa for comment on these allegations. But many organisations dealing with the AIDs pandemic have said there is no transparency in The National Aids Council (NAC) which falls under Parirenyatwa’s ministry. They say money collected from taxpayers to help the poor is not fully accounted for and it is not clear just who the NAC is helping.