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The Greater Accra Network of Association of Persons living with HIV/AIDS (NAP+) in collaboration with ACTIONAID Ghana has appealed to government to make antiretroviral treatment available to them for free. The group made this call at a one-day advocacy forum in Accra to find pragmatic solutions to address accessibility of antiretroviral drugs by persons living with the virus. The meeting which was on the theme �Universal Access to Antiretroviral in Ghana� was aimed at discussing the challenges the HIV/AIDS patients face when they attend hospitals for treatment and to make an appeal to government to subsidize the 5 Ghana cedis that they pay at health facilities before accessing the drugs. Some of the representatives of the groups who spoke to the Daily Express after meeting asserted that many persons living with the virus have died and are still dying because they could not afford to pay for antiretroviral drugs to treat themselves. Speaking on behalf of the group, the Chairman of the Greater Accra Office of NAP+ Ghana, Winfred Kudolo appealed to government to reconsider subsidizing the payment of the 5 cedis by HIV persons to enable patient�s access the drugs for free. He however asserted that among all the West African countries, it is only in Ghana that persons living with the virus pay 5 Ghana cedis monthly to access the drug. He noted that the procurement and distribution processes by the Ministry of Health are cumbersome, saying �it takes a long time before ARV�s are brought into the country leading to a shortage sometimes.� �Ghana Network of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS would like to call on the government to help the local manufacturer to sell to the Ministry of Health at an agreed rate or subsidized rate which would lead to government giving ARV�s free of charge to HIV patients�, Mr. Kudolo added. Meanwhile, some Ghanaian companies now have the capacity to produce anti-retroviral drugs for the West African sub-region. One of the companies, Danadams which operates on the Spintex Road produces and distributes the ARV�s within the country. Minister for Health Alban Bagbin recently toured its facilities to familiarize himself with the works and challenges of the company. The Minister and his technical team expressed the need for government to support the pharmaceutical company to further expand its operations in the production of the antiretroviral drugs. The Minster assured the company of the Ministry�s support for them to increase their output in order to make the drugs affordable of PL HIV/AIDS. In attendance at the forum included a representative from National Aids Control Programme (NACP), Bernard Dornoo, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer at the Ministry of Health, George Kyeremeh and a representative from the UNAIDS, Madam Elsie Ayeh and other support groups.