The Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority (PMRA) and the National AIDS Commission (NAC) have called for vigilance against increasing spread of social media claims about supposed permanent cure for HIV.

PMRA Director General Mphatso Kawaye and NAC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Beatrice Matanje made the call in Lilongwe on Wednesday when the two organizations addressed the media.

The call follows recent joint investigations by NAC and PMRA, in collaboration with Malawi Police Service (MPS), which have uncovered disturbing trend where some unscrupulous individuals are tampering with labels of known medicines and later advertise the falsified medicines as “Gammora HIV Cure”, falsely claimed to be permanent cure for HIV.

PMRA and NAC stress that there is no cure for HIV and that consistent treatment with Anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) is the only effective way to manage HIV. They have since advised people living with HIV to consult healthcare professionals and avoid taking medication without prescriptions.

Read the full joint statement here.