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India Has Run Out Of HIV Drugs For Children Due To A Ridiculous Government Failure

Thousands of children are at risk.
HIV positive children walk to the wash basin with their plate after eating lunch at a school for HIV/AIDS-infected children in Bhugaon, some 130 km (81 miles) from Mumbai, January 9, 2008.
Arko Datta / Reuters
HIV positive children walk to the wash basin with their plate after eating lunch at a school for HIV/AIDS-infected children in Bhugaon, some 130 km (81 miles) from Mumbai, January 9, 2008.

NEW DELHI -- Thousands of children living with HIV in India are reported to be at risk because the country has run out of Lopinavir syrup, a child-friendly HIV drug. The only manufacturer of the drug, Cipla, has not been paid by the Indian health ministry since 2014, reported The Hindu.

According to the report, Cipla stopped manufacturing the drug after the government repeatedly failed to pay them for the medicines. Even though the government has asked states to buy the drug from retail markets, it has not helped because the drug is reportedly nowhere available in the market. HuffPost India has reached out to pharmaceutical company Cipla for comment.

Hundreds of children living with HIV have now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Health Minister JP Nadda asking for their urgent intervention.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.