Fred Ouma
21 October 2007
Kampala — THERE is need to adopt more action-oriented initiatives towards fighting the HIV/AIDS scourge. According to Prof. Joep Lange, from the Academic Medical Centre in the Netherlands: "More needs to be done in tackling the issues in HIV treatment and prevention research."
Speaking at the launch of the INTERACT programme at the Infectious Diseases Institute in Mulago last week, Lange told health specialists that the funding tends to reward duplication and small incremental steps, rather than the boldness the HIV epidemic calls for.
He said several patients were still not accessing HIV treatment due to the growing epidemic, while the few enrolled on treatment depended on cheap fixed doses for first-line therapy, resulting in high early mortality rates.
The problem, he added, was compounded by limited availability of second-line options as well as inadequate monitoring capacity.
"In 2006, there were 4.3 million new infections worldwide. We may never be able to provide universal access to anti-retroviral therapy if we are unable to bring down the numbers of new infections significantly," Lange said.
Out of 240,000 Ugandans in need of anti-retroviral treatment, only 105,000 are receiving the drugs, according to Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, the director of the Uganda AIDS Commission.
According to the national HIV/AIDS sero-survey, new infections were estimated to have increased from 132,000 people in 2005 to 136,000 in 2006.
Gender inequality has been noted as an important factor in HIV transmission and experts recommended that a more programmatic approach towards gender equality be adopted when implementing national plans.
Prof. Keith McAdam of the Infectious Disease Institute said national plans on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria require the full involvement of non-health sectors and local governments.
The INTERACT programme, worth 5m Euros, is a partnership between Rwandan, Ugandan and European scientists who reflect on the interaction of malaria, TB and HIV.
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