|
Country in crisis as thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS experience interruption in antiretroviral treatment
NEW YORK, NY (June 29, 2007): This week AID FOR AIDS International donated more than 17,600 bottles of antiretroviral (ARV) medication to the National AIDS Program in Guatemala, Central America. This donation, worth approximately $80,000 (USD), included the generic equivalents of the following antiretroviral medication: Combivir, Epivir, Zerit, and Viramune.
This donation coincides with a serious shortage of HIV medication in Guatemala. According to National Statistics, there are approximately 78,000 people currently living with HIV and AIDS in this country, 13,000 of which are in need of antiretroviral therapy. Together, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Doctor’s without Borders, the Ministry of Health, and the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security provide treatment coverage for an estimated 7,150 people living with HIV and AIDS. However, this represents little more than 50% of those who need medication (1).
With this donation, AID FOR AIDS will guarantee a years’ treatment for 200 individuals from the mobile population, as well as circulate almost 13,000 bottles of medication for the general population living with HIV and AIDS. As part of the donation, AID FOR AIDS has asked the Ministry of Health to submit bi-annual data concerning specific information on the mobile population, and the general status of the HIV epidemic in the country. AFA hopes these reporting mechanisms will not only be useful for their own internal program evaluation, but will be of use to the Guatemalan government, as they struggle to resolve their current situation and prevent a similar crisis in the future.
For more information about this or any other program at AID FOR AIDS International, please visit our website at www.aidforaids.org or contact Tobey Busch, Director of the Universal Treatment Access Initiative at (212) 337-8043 or tobey.busch@aidforaids.org
back
|
