Kenya Becomes First African Country To Use Latest Generic AIDS Drug

Kenya has become the first country in Africa to begin the use of a generic of the latest AIDS drug, Dolutegravir (DTA).

Dolutegravir with the brand name Tivicay was first approved in 2013 by America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Since then, other first world countries have joined in the approval of the AIDS drug which is proven to have the effect of improving and prolonging the lives of HIV-positive people who have either developed resistance to or suffered adverse side effects from the use of other HIV drugs.

As of this time, the drug has already been administered to HIV patients in Kenya. One user, Nairobi-based patient named Doughtiest Ogutu testified of the drug’s effect saying;

“I had constant nightmares and no appetite, My appetite has come back… My body is working well with it.”

Ogutu began taking the drug after her body developed resistance to other HIV drugs.

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As a result of using DTA, Ogutu who has been living with HIV for 15 years revealed that the HIV load in her blood stream had reduced by about a ten-fold from 450,000 to 40,000.

Click here to read more about the dosage, side effects and other useful facts about Dolutegravir.

DTA which is used by high-income countries would be administered to 20,000 HIV patients in Kenya, after which it would be circulated to other African countries including Uganda and Nigeria before the end of 2017.

Monitoring the introduction of the drug to the nation is Kenya country director for the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Ms Sylvia Ojoo.

Ojoo said that though the drug has been proven to be extremely effective, about 15% of HIV patients are resistant to it.

Dolutegravir which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline-owned ViiV Healthcare is supported by health agency UNITAID.

Among the aims of UNITAID is to fund the research and development of new drugs and also allow more generic medicines to reach third world countries.

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The agency also aims to ensure that by 2020, 90% of those living with HIV worldwide should not only know that they are infected but also be placed on antiretroviral treatment.

As of now, at least two-third of the 1.5 million Kenyans living with HIV are receiving retroviral treatment.

About 40% of UNITAID’s grant portfolio, an equivalent of $400 million is chaelled towards fighting resistance to cures.

It is no news that Kenya is one of the world’s nations with the highest number of HIV-infected people.

However, in recent years, there has been a substantial drop in the number of newly infected cases.