Children and unborn babies will suffer the most from a Sh90 million tax stand-off between the state and a US importer of ARVs. Even before the current shortage, children in Kenya were facing trouble accessing the right medication. Last year, at least 6,806 babies were born with HIV, mainly because their mothers did not take medication properly during pregnancy and after birth. On Friday, some Nyanza MPs appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene in the standoff between the government and the USAID contractor. Some of the commodities being held include HIV testing, treatment and prevention commodities such as ARVs, laboratory reagents as well as TB diagnostic and prevention medications.

Source: The Star April 02, 2021 09:56 UTC