Brazil To Build Antiretroviral Drug Manufacturing Plant in Mozambique

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday announced that Brazil plans to build a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Mozambique to help the country produce its own antiretroviral drugs, BBC News reports. "The fight against HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest challenges for us and we are confident that Brazil's ... rich experience in this regard will be a valuable contribution to our struggle against the epidemic," Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said on Wednesday at a meeting with Lula da Silva in Mozambique's capital city, Maputo (BBC News, 11/5). Earlier this year, a senior official of the African Union said that Brazil would build a total of three antiretroviral drug plants in Africa (Odallah, Reuters, 11/5). Lula da Silva did not give an exact timeline for the construction of the Mozambican plant, saying only that the plant would be constructed "in the near future" (BBC News, 11/5). In the meantime, Brazil will supply Mozambique with discounted antiretroviral drugs, according to Lula da Silva (Ntave, Associated Press, 11/5). Brazil has been called a "pioneer" in the fight against AIDS in part because it has overridden patents to make generic copies of antiretroviral drugs, according to Reuters (Reuters, 11/5). "What we want is that the policy we have been following in Brazil towards AIDS should be extended to other countries, particularly those that speak Portuguese," Lula da Silva said (Xinhua News Agency, 11/5). Before leaving Mozambique, Lula da Silva planned to visit Maputo Central Hospital and an AIDS clinic (Associated Press, 11/5). Lula da Silva was in Mozambique during a five-country tour of Africa that also included stops in Angola, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa and Namibia (Reuters, 11/5). While in Angola, Lula da Silva signed a joint communique with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos pledging to cooperate in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to support the production of generic antiretrovirals (Panafrican News Agency, 11/6).