Nigeria to make cheap Aids drugs

Nigeria is to get its first plant for manufacturing anti-retroviral drugs for people living with HIV and Aids.

The plant is expected to bring cheaper medication for the millions of Nigerians afflicted by the disease.

It is wholly owned by a group of Nigerians living in the US who answered an appeal by President Olusegun Obasanjo for investment from expats.

At a ceremony to commission the plant, the president's wife described it as "yet another dividend of democracy".

She also said it represented "a powerful synergy between patriotism and professionalism" - a reference to the investors' background as health professionals.

Alagbado village, near Lagos, has been chosen as the location for the Archy Pharmaceuticals Company plant.

It represents a major milestone in the campaign by the Nigerian government for investment in the domestic economy by Nigerians living abroad.

Export plans

An estimated four million Nigerians are living with Aids - about 6% of the adult population.

The company's managing director, Prince Chijioke Ofomata says the state-of-the-art plant conforms to international standards.

He said the company chose to manufacture anti-retroviral drugs because of the rising incidence of HIV/Aids in Africa and because most of those infected could not afford essential drugs.

The company, he said, aimed to produce "branded generics and make them affordable to Nigerians and other people in Africa".

Mr Ofomata said the drug will be exported to other African countries in about two years.

Health Minister Professor Eyitayo Lambo said the increased local production of qualitative, safe and affordable drugs would reduce the incidence of fake and sub-standard drugs - a major problem in Nigeria.