Part of the Access to Treatment Program process includes the combined work of the treating physicians and our medical team to find the best treatment plan for every applicant. Once the case is approved, we guarantee a sustainable advanced supply of medication to guarantee continuous provision of ARVs to our beneficiaries.
To date, AFAI has provided antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to over 20,000 people in 59 countries through the Access to Treatment Program.
Enrollment Criteria:
To qualify for this program, applicants must certify that they meet the medical criteria for starting ARV medication according to international guidelines. However, the final decision about enrollment and beginning of ARV treatment come from case-by-case discussions between our medical team and the applicant’s treating physicians.
AID FOR AIDS can provide support to people with HIV who have already started ARV treatment and are currently in therapy but can not continue due to medication provision difficulties. They must present a medical prescription for it.
All of these conditions must be proven with copies of original lab results and/or medical or hospital reports. These results and reports must not be older than 6 months prior to the application date.
Other conditions for accessing the ARV coverage are:
- Applicants must not have any other source of medication coverage. This includes: governmental institutions, national programs, social security, private funds or foundations, private insurance or coverage from any other source. Applicants must lack of economic means to purchase the medication.
- Applicants must have a treating doctor for the HIV status.
- Periodic submission of results of CD4 count, viral load and medical reports is required in order to maintain coverage and continuity of the drug supply. Once every 6 months (biannually).
Enrollment Requirements:
Applicants and/or treating physicians must submit the following documentation to prove their eligibility for enrollment:
- Application form properly and legibly filled out.
- A detailed medical history regarding the HIV status and history of previous ARV regimens and the reasons for the change.
- Copies of the original CD4 count and Viral Load results, not older than 6 months.
- Prescription for all the drugs requested by your treating doctor.
- A copy of any official photo ID showing the name of the applicant.
Approval of Requested Therapy:
Every requested therapy will be subject to an evaluation by our medical team. If we disagree with the requested treatment due to medical reasons, the case will be further discussed with their treating physician until we reach an agreement and a plan that will be the most beneficial to the applicant.
Continuation of your Coverage:
This depends upon the applicant’s compliance with the program requirements.
Drug Availability:
Access to Treatment Program labels a drug as “available” when we can guarantee a sustainable provision of the medication without any interruption. However, since provisions depend on our HIV Medicine Recycling Program, there is always a small possibility of stock shortages. In this case, AFAI will try to find a comparable and equally effective regimen.
Privacy:
Confidentiality is highly protected by AFAI, and for this purpose, once the case is approved, a code composed of numbers and letters will be assigned to the applicant.
Communication:
Applicants must provide us with complete and proper contact information. This must include phone numbers, fax numbers, or email addresses of both parties (applicant and treating physician).
Shipping of the Meds:
Applicants are responsible for the shipping cost of their medications.
For more information or to apply to our Access to Treatment Program please contact Dr. Jaime Valencia: [email protected] and Oscar Peña [email protected]
Click here to download our Application Form.