Only weeks after King Mswati III of Swaziland said
that he would personally wipe out the HIV virus in his kingdom, local media
have reported a ‘panic’ as ARV drugs ran out.
The King, who has been mocked
around the world for his claim to be able to rid Swaziland of HIV, the
virus that leads to AIDS, made his claim in a
speech opening the Swazi Parliament.
ARVs are drugs used to help people who are living
with the HIV virus.
The Times of
Swaziland newspaper reported on Wednesday (4 March 2015), ‘People
living with HIV/AIDS countrywide have been gripped by panic after reports that
health facilities have run out of ARVs.
‘The situation is said to have been prevailing for
the past four days and patients were turned away at the country’s health
facilities, with some even being told to get the drugs from South African
health facilities.
‘The country has run out of a drug known as Kaletra.’
The newspaper reported, ‘It is not the first time
that the country has run short of ARVs in some health facilities.’
King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan
Africa’s last absolute monarch, had told his parliament, ‘I wish to assure the
nation that I will personally see to it that the first world Swaziland is HIV
/AIDS free.’
The reference to ‘first world’ was widely interpreted
to mean the King would wipe out HIV / AIDS by 2022; the year he has declared
that Swaziland will become a First World country.
See also
MEDIA
BACK KING’S FALSE HIV PROMISE
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