AFRICA - Flexibility in health systems and community approach that adapts to the daily realities of HIV-positive people

Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) - 71% of the 35 million people living with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. The call by (UNAIDS) to close the gap around access to HIV services will not be met unless the delivery of antiretroviral treatment (ARV) is radically reshaped into Community-led approaches that adapt to the realities of those living with HIV. Various health organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and others organizations have pioneered since 2007 a wide array of community strategies to bring treatment closer to people's homes and has shown that community approaches make access to ARVs easier and less costly for people and are key strategies which keep more people on effective HIV treatment, thus slowing transmission overall. MSF and other organizations have decentralized some services in rural areas to reduce the distance that patients have to cover to get drugs and undergo visits. Health education programs and education to treatment has led to an increased understanding of the disease by decreasing the stigma on HIV/AIDS in communities, facilitated the follow-up of patients, compliance with therapy and prevention activities. By separating the need for an yearly clinical from the refill of daily pills it decreases the amount of time and money needed to access drugs, and has shown retention in care for stable patients at over 90% in different models in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Pilot projects in some countries in West and Central Africa who are currently lagging behind in their HIV response, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea, have shown good patient outcome. According UNAID, 59% of NGOs working on HIV and human rights saw their funding decrease in 2012. In South Africa, the activist group Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is facing a severe funding crisis that it faces the threat of closure after 15 years of existence. Community models demand flexibility in the health systems as there is no system that can fit every need. HIV-positive people should be given the choice to choose how to fit their daily treatment within their own lives. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 29/11/2014)