UNAIDS asks Chinese to produce drugs

Shortages pose major challenges in Africa, chief of program says

The head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS has called on China to boost prevention and control in Africa by encouraging the country's drugmakers to open production hubs on the continent.

Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, said the central government should use the China-Africa Development Fund to mobilize key pharmaceutical companies to invest in manufacturing hubs covering many African countries, which will help create a "viable and sustainable" market.