Nigeria: Seizure of drug shipment threatens ARV access

Dutch customs officials have seized a consignment of generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs bound for Nigeria, raising the health risk to HIV-positive people in need of the life-prolonging medication. Claiming that the drugs were counterfeit and violated patent rights, Dutch authorities seized the shipment at the end of February as it passed through Schipol Airport in Amsterdam en route to Nigeria, where the drugs were to be distributed by the Clinton Foundation, an implementing partner of the country's HIV/AIDS programme.