Press Releases

United States Government Procures HIV/AIDS Test Kits

Three Million Test Kits Arrive to Support Government of Tanzania’s Testing Campaign

October 4, 2007

Dar es Salaam, October 2007 – The United States Government through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is providing over 3 million Bio-line rapid HIV test kits to support the Government of Tanzania’s nationwide testing campaign launched in July and running through November, and to replenish stocks for routine testing following the campaign. As with all drugs and commodities procured under PEPFAR, Bio-line was selected by the Government of Tanzania following extensive external/internal review and quality assurance and was formally incorporated into Government of Tanzania guidelines and protocols. Bio-line is also used in many other countries. The Bio-line test kits are being sent in stages, and the first 30,000 kits that contain 750,000 individual tests (already in transit) are expected to arrive in Tanzania by October 8. The total value of the 3 million Bio-line test kits is US$2,400,000.

In May 2007, the Tanzanian Minister of Health requested U.S. assistance for the testing campaign. The U.S. Mission in Tanzania, on behalf of the American people, agreed to support this life-saving initiative. The shelf life of Bio-line kits is 24 months. These kits may be stored at room temperature and have no special storage requirements.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Tanzanian Governments, the United States appointed Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) to procure and import donated commodities to support the Government of Tanzania through the PEPFAR program. The MOU permits United States Government partners like SCMS to import donated goods without paying import duties or Value Added Tax. SCMS complies with all Tanzanian regulations in the importation of donated goods. Goods procured and shipped are based on formal requests from the Government of Tanzania.

The Private Health Laboratories Board, a division of the Ministry of Health, has issued a Certificate of Registration for Health Laboratory Product/Supplies for SD Bio-line HIV 1/2, valid until June 30, 2008.

The quantity of test kits needed for the testing campaign was determined by a national task force established by the Ministry of Health and chaired by the Chief Medical Office. At the request of the U.S. Government, SCMS has procured 3 million Bio-line kits for delivery by the end of the calendar year and/or early 2008. The supply of 3,000,000 Bio-line tests will be shipped directly from the Standard Diagnostics manufacturing site in Korea. SCMS will monitor distribution of tests during the campaign in order to stage deliveries appropriately. Incoming shipments are cleared by Crown Agents/Tanzania, and appropriate Government of Tanzania regulatory bodies, and are collected from the port of entry and delivered to Medical Stores Department (MSD) by Freight in Time/Tanzania.

Approximately 1,400,000 adults and children are living with HIV in Tanzania. These Bio-line rapid test kits are a crucial component in Tanzania’s fight against HIV and AIDS. By learning their status through a simple blood test, many Tanzanians who test positive can seek life-saving treatment.

The shipment of 3 million HIV/AIDS test kits to Tanzania is not the first time the U.S. Government has procured HIV/AIDS test kits on Tanzania’s behalf. For example, the United States delivered more than 450,000 tests earlier this year (all also approved and registered for use in Tanzania by the Government of Tanzania) for the Dar es Salaam Region campaign launch.

This assistance is part of overall U.S. Government direct and multilateral aid from the American people to Tanzania of more than half a billion U.S. Dollars (over 625 billion Tanzanian shillings) in fiscal year 2007.