Giant strides in fight against AIDS

MORE people are now receiving antiretroviral therapy, expanded HIV testing and counselling services, and improved access to services to prevent the transmission of the disease from mother to child, a new report by the UN says.

The UN said although more people are now on drugs, more than five million others in need still do not receive antiretroviral treatment.’More than four million people in low- and middle-income countries were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the close of 2008. This represents a 36 per cent increase in one year and a ten-fold increase over five years,’ according to a new report released today by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS).’This report shows tremendous progress in the global HIV-AIDS response,’ said WHO Director General Margaret Chan.’But we need to do more. At least five million people living with HIV still do not have access to life-prolonging treatment and care. Prevention services fail to reach many in need. Governments and international partners must accelerate their efforts to achieve universal access to treatment.’The UN said access to antiretroviral therapy continued to expand at a rapid rate.Of the estimated 9,5 million people in need of treatment in 2008 in low- and middle-income countries, 42 per cent had access, up from 33 per cent in 2007.The greatest progress was seen in sub-Saharan Africa, where two-thirds of all HIV infections occur.Prices of the most commonly used antiretroviral drugs have declined significantly in recent years, contributing to wider availability of treatment.The cost of most first-line regimens decreased by 10 to 40 per cent between 2006 and 2008. However, second-line regimens continue to be expensive.Despite recent progress, access to treatment services is falling far short of need and the global economic crisis raised concerns about their sustainability.Many patients were being diagnosed at a late stage of disease progression, resulting in delayed initiation of ART and high rates of death in the first year of treatment.