SOUTH AFRICA: Government To Offer Combination HIV Med For $10 Per Month

In what is being called a revolutionary development in the treatment of HIV, the South African government will begin offering a daily three-in-one anti-retroviral pill that will cost only $10 per month.

In South Africa, where 5.6 million people live with HIV/AIDS, treatment options were bleak at best — until now. The country has announced a new regimen that combines all of the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs a person with HIV/AIDS has to take into a single daily pill for only $10 per month. This will revolutionize treatment in the country, which suffered from a lack of necessary drugs despite its high population of infected individuals. The pill, which has fewer side effects and is easier to swallow, is already being praised by patients who are eager to try it for themselves.

Although it is not named in the linked article, commenters on the story report that the drug appears to be Atripla, which retails for about $2000 per month in the United States. Due to South Africa's aggressive HIV programs, life expectancy for the infected has increased to 60 years.

NOTE: Some news outlets are incorrectly reporting that the South African drug comes in a single monthly dose. The $10 cost is monthly, but the pill must be taken daily.