Kiev--A group of Ukrainians infected with HIV warned on Wednesday that thousands could soon perish because the war-torn country was running out of treatment for the virus responsible for AIDS.
The activists staged a poignant protest in which they marked out territory for a symbolic cemetery outside the government building in central Kiev.
"We are calling on the prime minister and the government of Ukraine to avert this catastrophe," protest coordinator Volodymyr Zhovtyak said in a statement.
"After all, medication being used by 30,000 HIV-positive people will run out in three weeks," he wrote.
Activists link the problem to a law adopted last year allowing drug suppliers to receive full prepayment for medication they would not be required to deliver for up to six months.
The government's controversial decision was prompted by a technicality requiring money earmarked in the federal budget for specific programmes to be disbursed by the end of the fiscal year.
The Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS said the change meant medication that was supposed to be delivered by the end of 2014 may not reach the ex-Soviet country's poorly-stocked clinics until June 10.
Health Minister Alexander Kvitashvili told a cabinet meeting he was aware of the problem and was working with international humanitarian organisations to avert an all-out crisis.
"We have supplies through the end of June," said Kvitashvili. "The deadline for (drug) companies' deliveries is June 19."
AFP
