ACW Statement 1: Introduction
According to the latest UN estimates* over three million people will lose their life because of AIDS during the course of 2005. That is more annual AIDS deaths than ever before. Reaching for the ultimate goal of universal access to antiretroviral drugs is clearly vital - but as we strive for that goal we must keep those three million people alive in all possible ways.
Although AIDS-related deaths have fallen dramatically since the introduction of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in the late ‘90s, this has only happened in countries and communities where these medicines are available and affordable. Today, only one-in-eight of the six million people who need them have access to these life-saving drugs**.
Even when they are available, it is recommended that ARV drugs should only be taken once the progression of someone’s HIV infection - and the associated damage to their immune system - has reached a specific threshold. WHO estimates that approximately 15% - or 6 million of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) today - are beyond that stage and should be taking ARVs.
Access to ARVs is being expanded to the world’s poorer countries, but too slowly. Just over a year ago, for example, the World Health Organization (WHO) started a programme to ensure lifetime access to ARVs for three million people in developing countries by the end of 2005 (the so-called ‘3 by 5’ initiative).
However, many proponents of the 3 by 5 plan have already conceded that the goal will not be met on time. The director of WHO in Africa, Dr Ebrahim Malick Samba, has predicted that the 3 by 5 target will be reached “...but not as soon as expected”.
The Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria also offers immense hope that substantially more money will soon flow to countries for the provision of ARVs and other forms of HIV/AIDS care. But that too is seeing a slower than expected start - a pace largely determined by its donors.
Despite initiatives to expand ARV access and affordability, it appears unlikely that ARVs for all those who need them – or ‘universal access’ – will be achieved before at least 2008. In the intervening years, many of the people who need the drugs today will fall sick and die, and be replaced by further millions as they too progress to that threshold.
[* UNAIDS: AIDS Epidemic Update 2004 (23 November 2004) (http://www.unaids.org/); WHO: ‘3x5’ Progress Report 2005 (26 January 2005) (http://www.who.int/)]
Although AIDS-related deaths have fallen dramatically since the introduction of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in the late ‘90s, this has only happened in countries and communities where these medicines are available and affordable. Today, only one-in-eight of the six million people who need them have access to these life-saving drugs**.
Even when they are available, it is recommended that ARV drugs should only be taken once the progression of someone’s HIV infection - and the associated damage to their immune system - has reached a specific threshold. WHO estimates that approximately 15% - or 6 million of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) today - are beyond that stage and should be taking ARVs.
Access to ARVs is being expanded to the world’s poorer countries, but too slowly. Just over a year ago, for example, the World Health Organization (WHO) started a programme to ensure lifetime access to ARVs for three million people in developing countries by the end of 2005 (the so-called ‘3 by 5’ initiative).
However, many proponents of the 3 by 5 plan have already conceded that the goal will not be met on time. The director of WHO in Africa, Dr Ebrahim Malick Samba, has predicted that the 3 by 5 target will be reached “...but not as soon as expected”.
The Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria also offers immense hope that substantially more money will soon flow to countries for the provision of ARVs and other forms of HIV/AIDS care. But that too is seeing a slower than expected start - a pace largely determined by its donors.
Despite initiatives to expand ARV access and affordability, it appears unlikely that ARVs for all those who need them – or ‘universal access’ – will be achieved before at least 2008. In the intervening years, many of the people who need the drugs today will fall sick and die, and be replaced by further millions as they too progress to that threshold.
[* UNAIDS: AIDS Epidemic Update 2004 (23 November 2004) (http://www.unaids.org/); WHO: ‘3x5’ Progress Report 2005 (26 January 2005) (http://www.who.int/)]
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 2:52 pm
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