Equatorial Guinea is grappling with a serious shortage of life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, the health ministry has confirmed, in a country where around 62,000 people are living with HIV and AIDS.
Health Minister Mitoha Ondo Ayecaba addressed the issue on national television, breaking the government’s usual silence following widespread speculation online. He attributed the shortfall to an “unprecedented global logistical crisis”, which he said was sparked by recent international policy changes.
The minister highlighted that disruptions in the global HIV treatment supply chain, from manufacturing to delivery, had delayed shipments to the country. “We are not a priority country in terms of volume, so our orders have been delayed,” he explained.
Although Equatorial Guinea was not a direct recipient of the United States’ PEPFAR initiative — a major global AIDS relief programme — Ayecaba said Washington’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organisation and end its support for PEPFAR earlier this year had triggered a wider disruption.
The Central African nation, home to 1.5 million people and ruled by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo for over four decades, is now trying to replenish its medical stockpiles. Ayecaba announced that the first shipment of antiretrovirals had already arrived, and two more deliveries — totalling over 13 tonnes of medicine — are expected by Sunday.
The World Health Organisation had previously warned of the potential global fallout from supply interruptions. In March, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that setbacks to HIV programmes could reverse two decades of progress, potentially resulting in over 10 million new infections and three million AIDS-related deaths — more than triple last year’s figure.
