Zimpapers Logo

Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Health Reporter
Governments should expeditiously come up with a regulatory framework to adopt the new treatment and care recommendations for HIV, World Health Organisation director for HIV and Aids programme, Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, said yesterday.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the 18th International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA), Dr Hirnschall said the recommendations, which were officially launched yesterday, enabled countries to expand treatment to all — rapidly and effectively.

The recommendations were released in early September this year.

“These recommendations provide guidelines on what to do and when to do it. We encourage countries to make use of them as quickly as possible,” said Dr Hirnschall.

Two key recommendations entail that all people tested HIV positive should immediately be placed on antiretroviral drugs despite their CD4 Count and secondly, that countries should use HIV treatment as a prevention choice for people at high risk of contracting HIV, such as commercial sex workers.

These recommendations include using innovative testing strategies to increase the number of people knowing their status, moving testing and treatment services closer to the people, starting treatment faster among people who are at advanced stages of HIV and reducing the frequency of clinic visits for those already on treatment.

Previously, people were given ARVs only when their CD4 Count was 500 or below. Other vulnerable groups such as children under the age of five years, pregnant women, discordant couples and people with co-infection of HIV and TB were also given ARVs upon diagnosis.

But the new guidelines encourage countries to give ARVs to all HIV positive people despite their CD4 Count.

Speaking at the same occasion, United States Global Aids coordinator, Dr Deborah Birx, re-affirmed her Government’s commitment to supporting HIV response efforts through different spheres, one of which is the Global Fund to Fight Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Dr Birx urged countries to take advantage of the Global Fund’s funding replenishment and align their concept notes in line with the new guidelines.

“Short of an HIV vaccine or cure, this gives us the critical tools we need to create an AIDS-free generation with the fast-tracking strategy. We must seize this moment and chart a bold course together to end AIDS epidemic as a public health threat,” she said.

Coordinator of the African Community advisory board, Mr Kenly Sikwese, said the new guidelines were possible for adoption in Africa.

He said countries such as Rwanda and Malawi were already giving ARVs to all people testing HIV positive and using HIV treatment as prevention to populations at risk.

“What these guidelines mean is that no one should be turned away from a health institution without treatment once tested positive. We need to be very innovative, this needs to happen to our settings too,” said Mr Sikwese.

He said majority of people currently benefiting from the test and treatment approach were from the North, yet some African countries were still struggling to offer treatment to people with CD4 counts of less than 500.

“The issue of money must not be a deterrent. How did countries like Rwanda and Malawi manage to adopt the recommendations,” he said.

He said there was also need to engage pharmaceutical companies to continue bringing down the cost of treatment so that it was available for all.

Deputy director of HIV and STIs in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Tsitsi Apollo, said Zimbabwe was excited about the recommendations saying they would go a long way in reducing HIV transmission in the country.

Zimbabwe’s HIV prevalence stands at 16 percent with an estimated 1,2 million people living with HIV.

Only 66 percent of the 1,2 million know their status.

“We need to increase our testing services and be able to reach out to the 34 percent who do not know their status,” said Dr Apollo.