Got medications you don’t need? Don’t throw them away! They could make the difference between life and death for HIV-infected people in poor countries.
Access to treatment is one of the biggest problems facing HIVers in less-developed nations. Fortunately, several organizations will take your unneeded pills and ship them to doctors and patients in places where treatment needs otherwise would go unmet.
The anti-HIV medications themselves are those most obviously needed, especially the newer drugs (e.g., Viread, Sustiva, Emtriva, etc.), although the older compounds are also widely used (e.g., AZT or Combivir, Crixivan, etc.).
Nor does the need stop there. Any prescription taken by a poz person is likely to be useful, even if it is not specifically to combat HIV, as the same problems plague AIDS patients regardless of geography. Antibiotics, pain meds, appetite boosters, and heart medications are commonly needed, too.
The key restriction is the expiration date: Expired medications are not accepted. We will remove the patient’s name, if still present, before shipping.
ASA sends collected medications to two organizations which seem particularly well run: International AIDS Empowerment in El Paso and Aid for AIDS in NYC. Both ship to Latin America and the Caribbean. (We feel these areas receive less attention than Africa.) Medications can be brought to ASA, 7215 Cameron (just north of St. Johns), attn: Sandy Bartlett. Or, a complete list of such organizations can be found at TheBody.com; they’ll be glad to receive your direct shipment.
Over time, HIV disease will almost always produce surplus pills, whether because the patient changed regimens or got extra doses or because the person has died. Don’t just let those medications go to waste – let’s put them to good use!
This article appears in May 27 • 2005.