UNAIDS urges rapid expansion of access
to HIV antiretroviral medicines

published on July 15, 2013

New framework to scale up antiretroviral treatment access to 15 million people worldwide by 2015

Vancouver, B.C. [July 15, 2013] — The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) today lauded the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for its new framework to accelerate action in reaching 15 million people with antiretroviral treatment by 2015.

The framework, entitled Treatment 2015, provides countries with methods to rapidly scale up HIV treatment access to reach this goal set by United Nations Member States in 2011, and furthering this target to nearly 26 million people on antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible thereafter. The framework emphasizes the importance of HIV testing and counseling as a gateway to expanding access to antiretroviral therapy and that further efforts are required to normalize HIV testing.

Treatment 2015 was developed in partnership with the Global Fund and PEPFAR, as well as the African Union and other key stakeholders, to maximize the impact of HIV treatment on the prevention of morbidity, mortality, and HIV transmission. The framework is based on the new consolidated guidelines put forward by the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this month at the 7^th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“The end of AIDS is within grasp, expanding treatment as prevention, as recommended by the 2013 WHO guidelines, will bring this epidemic to its knees,” said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC-CfE. “Together, we can stop AIDS, and move towards realizing the vision of an HIV & AIDS-free generation. We should rally behind UNAIDS to make the best of this extraordinary opportunity.”

The key recommendation of the 2013 WHO guidelines is to initiate treatment sooner in order to save more lives and prevent more infections. The 2013 WHO guidelines recommend treatment be offered regardless of CD4 count level if there is TB co-infection, or liver disease due to Hepatitis B virus co-infection, or for individuals at very high risk for HIV transmission, such as those in sero-discordant couples and pregnant HIV infected women, who should be encouraged to start HAART during pregnancy and to continue it for life thereafter, and for children infected with HIV under the age of five years.

“The new 2013 WHO guidelines represent a dramatic step forward as they virtually close the gap in the eligibility for antiretroviral therapy between the North and South of the world,” added Dr. Montaner. “Furthermore, they critically incorporate early intervention with antiretroviral therapy as a means of preserving health and quality of life, preventing disease progression and death, as well as preventing HIV transmission.”

In British Columbia, provincial therapeutic guidelines recommend highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) be offered to most HIV-positive individuals regardless of their CD4 cell count. As a result, the number of individuals receiving treatment increased from 837 to more than 7,000 between 1996 and 2012, and HIV-related morbidity and mortality have declined by approximately 90 per cent since the early 1990s. The number of new HIV diagnoses fell from approximately 800 per year prior to 1996 to 238 in 2012.

The Treatment 2015 framework can be accessed here.

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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UNAIDS urges rapid expansion of access
to HIV antiretroviral medicines

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UNAIDS urges rapid expansion of accessto HIV antiretroviral medicines

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UNAIDS urges rapid expansion of access
to HIV antiretroviral medicines