The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) launched a new initiative on Monday to provide anti-retrovirals to three million people by the end of 2005.
The “3 by 5” campaign kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, on the occasion of World Aids Day (December 1). It will focus on five areas, including global leadership in the fight against Aids and “sustained country support” for the therapy.
The remaining three categories deal with simplifying the delivery of anti-retrovirals (ARVs), ensuring a reliable supply of drugs and equipment to diagnose HIV -‒ and rapidly identifying, and applying, “new knowledge” about the pandemic.
“The 3 by 5 framework is a plan for action by nations, institutions, and all people -‒ including those living with HIV/Aids,” said Jack Chow, assistant director general at the WHO for HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria.
According to figures released by the WHO and UNAids, about 40-million people are currently infected with HIV -‒ 95% of them in developing countries. About three-quarters of these people, 29-million, live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Additional statistics show that five to six million HIV-positive people in the developing world require ARVs. But, only 400Â 000 can afford the life-prolonging drugs. Without ARV therapy, up to three million people globally may die from the pandemic this year alone.
The WHO also issued its approval on Monday for three generic ARVs.
The production of generic drugs to treat Aids has generated controversy in recent years, with pharmaceutical companies claiming that these medicines will undercut profits from the patented originals. Drug producers say that this will, in turn, prevent them from carrying out research into new medicines.
However, Kenneth Chebet -‒ director of Kenya’s National Aids and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Programme -‒ has welcomed the WHO’s decision.
“These new products are an advantage to countries, especially the developing ones which have been hardest hit by HIV/Aids. [And] …they are easy to take,” he said.
According to Chebet, 10% of HIV-positive Kenyans are in urgent need of ARV treatment. More than two million people in the East African country are infected with the Aids virus, out of a population of 30-million.
Other health experts at the “3 by 5” launch criticised drug companies for failing to develop ARVs that can be taken by children, saying this was essential if the pandemic was to be comprehensively addressed.
“We need something for children, and that is still a major challenge for pharmaceutical companies,” said Morten Rostrup, president of Médécins Sans Frontières, adding that further price reductions for ARVs should also be a priority.
According to the WHO, there has been a substantial reduction in the price of ARVs offered to countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Drugs that once cost about $10 000 a year can now be bought for as little as $300.
However, Rostrup thinks the cost of treatment can go even lower: “It is realistic to have prices reduced to $50 to $70,” he said.
People living with HIV/Aids maintain there has been much talk about a reduction in the price of ARVs -‒ but not enough action.
“Can those concerned stop talking and do something?” asked Rowlands Lenya, executive director of the Association of People with Aids in Kenya.
“We should not just offer lip service to people who are suffering. We need to see governments, international agencies and pharmaceutical firms cooperating to give drugs to people who need them,” he added.
Kenya’s Minister of Health, Charity Ngilu, says her country aims to have 140Â 000 HIV-positive people on ARV treatment by 2005.
The ministry says that currently the government is providing free ARV treatment to only 6Â 000 patients, out of the 270Â 000 Kenyans who are in urgent need of the drugs. — IPS