[afro-nets] US defense contractors to supply AIDS drugs to Africa

[A. Odutola <chpss_abo2@yahoo.com>]

US defense contractors to supply AIDS drugs to Africa under PEPFAR
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Several (US) defense contractors to apply for US$ 7b PEPFAR
grant to supply HIV/AIDS drugs to developing countries, NPR Re-
ports - Source:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv.cfm#26226

Several defense contractors, including Northrop Grumman -- the
second-largest government defense contractor and manufacturer of
the stealth bomber -- are considering a bid for a $7 billion
grant from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to
supply antiretroviral drugs to developing countries, NPR's
"Morning Edition" reports. (Wilson, "Morning Edition," NPR,
10/14).

PEPFAR is a five-year, $15 billion program that directs funding
to 12 African nations -- Botswana, Ethiopia, Cote d'Ivoire,
Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tan-
zania, Uganda and Zambia -- as well as Haiti, Guyana and Viet-
nam.

NPR reports that the Bush administration currently is soliciting
proposals for the "largest contract for international health
services ever" to develop a supply system that would "quickly
scale up" the delivery of "vast quantities" of HIV/AIDS medica-
tions and medical supplies to two million people in the 15 coun-
tries. Although none of the companies considering a bid on the
contract would comment on record with NPR, Carl Stecker, direc-
tor of AIDS treatment programs for Catholic Relief Services,
said his agency has been visited by several defense contractors.

Stecker added that large-scale supply chain management projects,
such as purchasing and transporting millions of dollars worth of
drugs to remote clinics, are logistically "way out of the ...
league" of many relief agencies.

Dr. Mark Dybul, an AIDS researcher at NIH and chief medical of-
ficer of PEPFAR, said that a final version of the request for
proposals on the contract, which would provide $7 billion over
five years to procure, track and transport HIV/AIDS drugs, is
expected to be issued next week.

Although some HIV/AIDS advocates are not surprised that defense
companies are interested in the contract, some question whether
large defense contractors "are the right ones for the job" and
are "troubled" by the prospect of working with some of the de-
fense companies, NPR reports ("Morning Edition," NPR, 10/14).

--
A. Odutola
mailto:chpss_abo2@yahoo.com