Everyone with HIV should be given antiretroviral drugs as soon as possible after diagnosis, meaning 37 million people worldwide should be on treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
Recent clinical trials have confirmed that early drug use extends the lives of those with the AIDS-causing virus and cuts the risk of disease transmission to partners, the WHO said in a statement setting out the new goal for its 194 member states.
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The strategy was pioneered by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver. Pressure is now on donor countries to help pay for it, said the centre’s Dr. Rolando Barrios.
“Our federal government has not been interested in supporting these initiatives,” Barrios said. “But we hope that now that this is not an ideological discussion, now it’s based on science, we hope that our politicians will take action.”
Barrios admits efforts to treat HIV on a global scale have exceeded his expectations. He believes WHO’s plan to eliminate AIDS by 2030 is achievable.