Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
GMHC Treatment Issues; Vol 12, No. 1 December 1997/January 1998
Jill Cadman
Under the Initiative, the pilot countries will develop their medical infrastructures to improve care for HIV-infected individuals and ensure the effective distribution and use of HIV-related drugs. Participating pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, such as Glaxo Wellcome and Hoffmann-La Roche, will subsidize purchases of drugs and virological services and tests. Drugs will include antivirals, as well as antimicrobials to treat opportunistic infections and antibiotics to treat sexually transmitted diseases. Special oversight committees in each country composed of local medical, public health and community representatives will coordinate the effort, devise policy and institute entry criteria for the selection of patients. In addition, specially created nonprofit organizations will place and receive drug orders and channel subsidies from participating donors. Each country will also receive training and education funded by UNAIDS.
Problems can occur, as they already have in the Ivory Coast, when patients are asked to contribute towards the cost of their treatment. Even if pharmaceutical companies subsidize a large portion of the cost, prices for drugs will still be beyond the reach of the majority of the Ivory Coast's one million HIV-positive people. The average per capita income in this nation is only about $500.
The pilot program also is quite small, and can only serve the needs of several thousand AIDS patients per country. If successful, the Initiative will be extended to other countries in three years. The ultimate goal is to provide a base for the developing nationwide health care systems to treat and educate those infected and affected by HIV. Local health ministries will be encouraged to create new sources of funding and to build on existing programs in an effort to achieve financial stability. According to Dr. Joseph Saba, coordinator of the Initiative, "We are hopeful that this new collaborative approach will bring us a little closer to making treatment for HIV and AIDS a reality for many people in the developing world, who have little or no access to care today."
980115
GM120107
Copyright © 1998 - Treatment Issues. Reproduced with permission. Treatment Issues is published twelve times yearly by GMHC, Inc. All rights reserved. Noncommercial reproduction is encouraged. Subscription lists are kept confidential. GMHC Treatment Issues, The Tisch Building, 119 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011 fredg@gmhc.org http://www.gmhc.org
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .