Dear colleagues,

FYI from the World Health Organization


New AIDS Treatment Strategy Emerging for Asian Countries

WHO and Member States Explore How to Include Antiretrovirals in Basic HIV
Care Package in Asia and the Pacific

WHO Press Release
12 May 2003

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A World Health Organization (WHO) consultation on scaling up HIV/AIDS
care including antiretroviral (ARV) drug treatment, taking place this week
(12-15 May), is the first of its kind to be held in Asia. The WHO will bring
together representatives from governments, non-governmental organizations,
people living with HIV/AIDS groups and international organizations from
throughout the Asia- Pacific region.

Thailand will play host to this consultation, which is organised jointly
by the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and its Regional Office for
the Western Pacific.. The goal of the meeting is to develop new strategies
to address the care needs of the nearly 7 million people living with HIV/AIDS
in the Asia-Pacific region - about one-sixth of all people living with HIV and
AIDS globally.

WHO has stated unequivocally that this meeting is “intended to revisit
and build upon strategies discussed at the United Nations General Assembly
Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS), held in June 2001”. At that time,
180 governments and a diverse group of non-governmental actors made a collective
commitment to address urgent issues of care and treatment
for people living with HIV and AIDS. All segments of society should be
engaged, together with the international community, to develop national
strategies that “strengthen health-care systems and address factors
regarding the provision of HIV-related drugs, including antiretroviral
treatments.” The governments that signed on to the 2001 UNGASS
Declaration are now being held accountable for those commitments.

Antiretroviral treatments have turned HIV/AIDS into a manageable
chronic condition in richer countries in recent years, and even in the
developing world, scaling up access to ARVs has been shown to be a feasible
option. In Brazil, 115,000 people were on ARV treatment by mid-2002. It is
estimated that between 1994-2002, 90,962 deaths have been averted (a 50%
decrease in mortality). Median survival of participants with AIDS increased from
18 months in 1995 to 58 months after the introduction of
antiretroviral treatment.

As one of the first countries in Asia to provide ARVs as part of the
standard care package, Thailand’s current strategy also provides an
excellent case study for the process of scaling-up HIV/AIDS care in the
Asia-Pacific. An increasing number of generic HIV drug manufacturers
are making ARVs every year, decreasing the yearly costs of the drugs to
around US $300 per person, from previous prices that were more than ten times
higher. Falling drug costs have allowed the Thai Ministry of Public
Health to support 13,000 people on ARV treatment in 2002. The government
aims to support 50,000 people living with HIV/AIDS on treatment by the
end of 2004.

Despite falling drug prices, and the availability of ARVs in the private
medical services of most countries in Asia, effective treatments still remain
beyond the reach of most people who need them. WHO aims to collaborate with
governments and non-governmental groups to make these drugs more accessible to
people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Dr. Uton Muchtar Rafei, the Regional Director for WHO’s South-East Asia
Regional Office in New Delhi, foresees a major challenge being strengthening the
capacity of health care systems in the region’s most affected countries. He
noted that “WHO advocates including HIV/AIDS care, including antiretroviral
treatment, into national HIV/AIDS prevention and control policies.”

Dr. Shigeru Omi, the Regional Director for WHO's Western Pacific Regional
Office added said, "In order to develop effective and sustainable HIV/AIDS
care including antiretroviral treatment, it is crucial to establish partnerships
between public health and medical services, people living
with HIV/AIDS, NGOs and the community at all levels."

This combined stance marks a firm direction for HIV/AIDS care-related
policies, which are now likely to encompass the entire continuum of
care, including services like counselling for people being tested for HIV
infection, established treatments for so-called ‘opportunistic infections’
that people living with HIV are prone to - as well as treatment with ARV
drugs that attack HIV directly.

Participants arriving for the meeting commented on the importance of
including people affected by HIV/AIDS in this kind of dialogue. “Having
seen so many people in the region – friends, colleagues and partners – die
from lack of adequate treatments, today’s discussions must translate into
action immediately,” said Greg Gray, Regional Coordinator of the Asia Pacific of
People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+). “While inviting affected communities to take
part is an essential step, it is also crucial that we come to the table as
equal partners,” he added.

Stigma, legal issues, and other humanitarian concerns remain important
topics for discussion within this AIDS care framework. With respect to all
of these critical issues, the regional WHO consultation will propose concrete
recommendations and strategies for the advancement of HIV policy
at the national and regional levels.
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Further information: The WHO meeting described is taking place in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, from 12-15 May 2003. To contact/interview representatives
of the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (Dr Jai Narain, Regional Adviser
HIV/AIDS) and/or the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific
(Dr Bernard Fabre-Teste, Regional Adviser HIV/AIDS) please call +66 9
9500685.

World Health Organization
Regional Office for South-East Asia
New Delhi-110 002, India
Telephone: 91-11-2337 0804 – twenty lines and
(Direct): 23370971
Fax: 91-11-23370197 or 23379507

World Health Organization
Regional Office for the Western Pacific
1000 Manila, Philippines
Telephone: 63-2-5288001
Fax 63-2-5211036, 5260279, 5260362