Over six million people in sub-Saharan Africa now accessing HIV treatment – UN

For the second year in a row, an additional 1.1 million people in sub-Saharan Africa received antiretroviral therapy, reaching a total of 6.2 million people across the region in 2011, the UNAIDS said July 6, 2012.

In less than a decade, access to HIV treatment in sub-Saharan Africa has increased more than 100-fold, the UN specialized agency indicated.

Citing preliminary estimates from country reports, the UNAIDS observed most dramatic progress has been seen in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. “In 2011, at least 300 000 people in South Africa were newly enrolled in treatment; 100 000 in Kenya; and 150 000 in Zimbabwe,” it said adding that many other countries, including Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland have already achieved high levels of treatment coverage.

The expanded treatment access in the region was due, in part, to a “major drop in the cost of HIV treatment regimens”.

“In 2000, the cost of a year’s supply of first-line HIV treatment was about $10,000 per person; today, it is less than $100 per person,” it stated.

By the end of 2011, an estimated 56% of people eligible for treatment in sub-Saharan Africa were accessing it and there was a 19% increase in treatment coverage across the region between 2010 and 2011 alone, according to the UNAIDS.

“Ten years ago, we could never have imagined reaching so many people in Africa with antiretroviral therapy,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé in a statement.

“Even in uncertain economic times,” Sidibé said “African leaders have shown leadership by increasing domestic HIV investments and expanding treatment access for people living with HIV.”

It is said that more than 80% of HIV drugs dispensed in Africa are imported and a vast majority of the medicines keeping Africans alive are paid for through external financial aid.

“Africa’s dependency on external aid is destabilizing the HIV response,” Sidibé said.

He indicated that leaders across the African continent are poised to transcend the outdated donor-recipient paradigm and embrace a new compact for shared responsibility and global solidarity.

By Ekow Quandzie

UNAIDS Boss on Africa’s fight against HIV