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Geneva (pte032/27.01.2005/13:45) - The number of people receiving treatment from AIDS in the developing world has increased by 75 per cent over the past year. As New Scientist http://www.newscientist.com reports, around 700,000 people were being treated by the end of 2004, as a result of a global initiative to widen access to antiretroviral drugs. This meets an interim goal set by the "3 by 5" collaboration between the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNAIDS, the Global Fund and the US government. However, the ultimate objective of the initiative is to get three million people with AIDS in the developing world on antiretroviral drugs by the end of 2005. Currently, there are around six million people in developing world who need the drugs.
"We salute the countries that have now shown us that treatment is possible and can be scaled up quickly, even in the poorest settings," said Lee Jong-Wook, the director general of the WHO. "It's very encouraging," added Catherine Hankins, the chief scientific adviser to UNAIDS. "What's really exciting is that the initiative is really strengthening health services as it goes along."
According to WHO and UNAIDS estimates, the heaviest burden of HIV/AIDS is in sub-Saharan Africa, where 72 per cent of untreated patients live. The number of people receiving treatment in the region has doubled over six months from 150,000 to 310,000. Access to treatment is also improving steadily in Asia, some Latin American countries and the Caribbean. According to a "3 by 5" initiative statement, Brazil has "the most advanced national HIV/AIDS treatment programme in the developing world". The South-American country has nationwide access to antiretroviral drugs and it has prevented almost 100,000 deaths from AIDS in the last seven years - a 50 per cent fall in mortality.
However, according to the initiative, getting another 2.3 million HIV/AIDS patients onto the treatment by the end of 2005 will be very challenging. It will be crucial to have progress in the countries needing it most - including South Africa, India and Nigeria, the initiative says. However, according to Peter Pilot, the executive director of UNAIDS, drugs are only one weapon in the battle against HIV. "People with HIV need comprehensive services from testing and counselling to nutritional support. And we must also renew our commitment to preventing new HIV infections," he said.
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