HARARE, Sept. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Zimbabwe faces the challenge of ensuring that people infected with HIV/AIDS get access to anti-retroviral drugs, Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa has said.

    "Anti-retroviral drugs with greater potencies, improved resistance profiles, better safety indices and more convenient dosing regiments are now available in Zimbabwe," the minister saidon Friday in a speech read on his behalf at a Barclays Bank healthand safety week staff conference. "The main challenge now is accessibility to these currently expensive drugs which is why the theme for this year's 15th International AIDS conference in Bangkok, Thailand, was 'Access for All'" he said.

    An estimated 1.8 million people in Zimbabwe are living with HIV/AIDS out of a total population of around 11 million.

    Parirenyatwa emphasized the need to prevent HIV/AIDS, saying the principle of abstinence, mutual faithfulness and use of condoms for those who cannot practice the ideal two, remained the cornerstone of tackling the pandemic.

    He urged the private sector to complement government efforts infighting the pandemic which is claiming an estimated 3,000 lives each week.

    Barclays Bank became one of the few private commercial banks inthe country to contribute toward the health welfare of its workersby launching an employee assistance program, through which it willoffer direct assistance in the form of health promotion, counseling and medication to staff members.

    Parirenyatwa said by investing in the health and well being of its employees, Barclays Bank was investing in its future success.

    He urged other organizations to emulate what Barclays had done so that employees become productive for the betterment of all.

    The program will offer free HIV testing services, anti-retroviral drugs to the infected and other support services in theform of the health and welfare department to staff members. Enditem