MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said 455,188 anti-retroviral (ARV) bottles to be used in the treatment of Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) have arrived in the country.
In a social media post, the DOH said the Lamivudine+Tenofovir+Dolutegravir (LTD) is scheduled for distribution next week.
The health department conducted inspection of the ARV drugs, which they said are safe, effective, high-quality and registered with the Food and Drug Administration.
“It is expected that the first tranche of HIV ARVs will be completed in the coming weeks and will also undergo inspection,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, the second and third tranches are expected to arrive in August and September this year.
Earlier, the DOH announced that the supplier, Phil Pharmawealth, will bring in 1.2 million bottles of LTD.
The first batch consisting of 600,000 bottles was set for delivery last May. However, the supplier, citing the Middle East crisis, requested for an extension.
LTD is the recommended first-line antiretroviral regimen for the treatment of HIV.
According to the DOH, the 1,164,879 bottles of LTD are enough to support the treatment of an estimated 97,000 PLHIV nationwide.