Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - November 17, 2003
"At the heart of this agreement is our mutual commitment to brings life-saving medications to some of the neediest communities in Latin America," said AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Cesar Portillo. "But it also demonstrates that government, churches and secular groups can and must join hands to fight AID," said Portillo, noting that Honduras suffers the highest HIV infection rate in the region.
Under the innovative project, anti-retroviral medications purchased by the Honduran Ministry of Health will reach patients through clinics owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras. Training, salaries and technical support for Honduran staff will be provided by U.S.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), while St. Steven's Episcopal Church in California's Tiburon-Belvedere will fund support services.
Honduras' Health Secretary Elias Lizardo said, "In 2001, not one patient in Honduras was on anti-retroviral medications." However, he noted that there are now over 1,000 patients in treatment thanks to government efforts and private clinics such as the Siempre Unidos/AHF Global Immunity clinic in San Pedro Sula, which has been treating patients since March.
Secretary Lizardo thanked both AHF and the Episcopal churches at today's ceremony in the capital city of Tegucigalpa for their efforts to formally partner with the government and to bring treatment to many more patients. In a related development, Lizardo announced that the government is negotiating better rates for anti-retroviral purchases: "Now, we are targeting reductions to $600 per patient per year for brand-name anti-retroviral medications."
In January of this year, the AHF accepted an invitation from church leaders in California and in Honduras to launch an anti-retroviral treatment program at a standing Episcopal medical clinic and HIV support group in Honduras' major industrial city, San Pedro Sula. Leveraging AHF's expertise in anti-retroviral treatment delivery as well as the Episcopal Church's eight-year experience providing support and ancillary medical services through its "Siempre Unidos" AIDS ministry, the program has blossomed as an anti-retroviral treatment program but has remained a pilot effort with limited resources. With today's announcement of partnership with the health ministry, AHF and church partners anticipate serving at least 1,000 patients by December 2004.
"We are deeply grateful to Dr. Denise Main of St Steven's church as well as Reverend Pascual Torres, Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras," said Portillo. "Their vision and hard work inspired AHF to join them in saving lives in Honduras. We are also grateful to Dr. Humberto Cosenza and Dr. Rosalinda Hernandez of the Health Ministry's HIV program, whose welcome and encouragement have been essential to this new partnership."
While the pilot program has depended solely on privately raised funds, today's agreement commits Honduras' Health Ministry to provide anti-retroviral (ARV) medications and diagnostic assays to all patients who seek treatment at the current location, as well as two additional locations. By the end of the year, a new anti-retroviral program will be launched at an Episcopal clinic in the central city of Siguatapeque, and one will be launched on the Caribbean island of Roatan. Both areas have high concentrations of HIV cases, with no access to ARV treatment.
The partnership was announced in conjunction with a ceremony today in Tegucigalpa marking the 25th anniversary of Honduras' Ministry of Public Health. AHF's Global Immunity program is a non-profit, international initiative of AIDS Healthcare Foundation that works in partnership with local stakeholders to establish replicable, scalable and sustainable models for HIV/AIDS medical services delivery in resource-constrained settings throughout the world.
SOURCE AIDS Healthcare Foundation
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PR031139
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