E-DRUG: WHO new EDL to contain 10 ARVs
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[In a press release, http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-28.html
WHO today announed that it has put 10 antiretrovirals on the
12th WHO model Essential Medicines List. See below.
At the same time, at the occasion of the Global Fund meeting starting, the
UN announces a new report on AIDS, TB and malaria. See
http://www.unaids.org/publications/documents/care/acc_access/Coordinates200
2.pdf
and
http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-29.html
WHO also collated all info on AIDS on:
http://www.who.int/medicines/organization/par/edl/access-hivdrugs.shtml
and
http://www.who.int/medicines/organization/par/edl/hiv-tools.shtml
All this is good news for AIDS patients. Happy surfing!
WB]
WHO TAKES MAJOR STEPS TO MAKE HIV TREATMENT ACCESSIBLE
Treatment Guidelines and AIDS Medicines List Announced by WHO
In a decisive move to strengthen action against AIDS in developing
countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has today announced the
first treatment guidelines for HIV/AIDS in poor settings. Parallel to
that, WHO has endorsed the inclusion of AIDS medicines in its Essential
Medicines List. The action is a breakthrough in a comprehensive
"prevention through care" package that could contribute to dramatically
wider access to treatment over the coming years.
WHO estimates that nearly six million people living with HIV/AIDS need
access to care and support including antiretrovirals (ARVs). Currently,
fewer than five per cent of those who require treatment in developing
countries can access these medicines. WHO believes that at least three
million people needing care should be able to get medicines by 2005 - a
more than ten-fold increase.
WHO sees wider access to safe and practical treatment as an important
element of an overall strategy to fight HIV/AIDS. It combines
prevention, improved diagnostics and effective care so that these
elements mutually reinforce each other.
"The new treatment guidelines and the designation of ARVs as essential
are vital steps in the battle against the AIDS pandemic. They should
encourage both industrialized and developing country governments to make
HIV treatment more widely available," says Gro Harlem Brundtland,
Director-General of WHO.
The new guidelines propose a practical, standardized and simplified
combination of ARV therapy. They provide guidance on more rational use
of ARV treatments resulting in fewer side effects, less resistance and
better tolerance of the medicines. They ensure that AIDS patients obtain
appropriate combinations of medicines that will make their lives longer
and more productive. The guidelines will also make it easier to train
health workers and make ARVs simpler to use.
A vital component of the WHO strategy to scale up access to care and
treatment in poor countries is the inclusion of ARVs on the WHO
Essential Medicines List. They include nevirapine and zidovudine -
previously listed for prevention of mother-to-child transmission but now
also recommended for treatment of HIV in adults and children. The new
medicines in the List are abacavir, didanosine, efavirenz, indinavir,
lamivudine, lopinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir (low-dose), saquinavir, and
stavudine. When used effectively in the recommended combinations,
antiretrovirals improve life expectancy and quality of life for people
living with HIV.
The decision to add these ARVs follows a strong recommendation by the
Expert Committee on the Use of Essential Medicines, a panel of
independent experts convened by WHO. It is based on a careful analysis
of current evidence of ARV efficacy in developing countries, which shows
that these medicines can be used effectively and safely in poor
settings. The Committee's selections allow for several multi-drug
combinations, many of which are becoming increasingly affordable in
developing countries.
"The identification of ARVs as essential medicines and the treatment
protocol should help national governments and health care institutions
to select appropriate treatment for people with AIDS." explains
Professor Juan-Ramon Laporte, Chair of the Expert Committee. "It will
also help to train health professionals, to inform patients, to monitor
treatment outcomes, and to assist reimbursement of such medicines by
health insurance schemes."
The first Model List of Essential Medicines was released by WHO in 1977
and has since been updated every two years. It aims to provide an
example for countries to develop their own essential medicines lists,
according to their priority health needs. By the end of 1999, 156 WHO
Member States had official medicines lists, of which 127 had been
updated in the previous five years.
"The antiretroviral treatment guidelines developed by WHO will greatly
assist governments and national AIDS programmes in providing people
living with HIV/AIDS with greater access to these life-saving
medicines," said Dr Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director. "The
long-sought inclusion of antiretrovirals in WHO's Essential Medicines
List will encourage governments in hard-hit countries to further expand
the distribution of these vital drugs to those who need them."
Since AIDS was reported over twenty years ago, over 20 million people
have died as a result of HIV infection. Current estimates suggest that
40 million people worldwide are infected with HIV and more than 90% of
infected persons live in the developing world. In 2001, 5 million people
worldwide became infected with HIV, and 3 million others died from
HIV/AIDS-related causes.
Left untreated, HIV infection results in a period of 3 to 10 years or
more during which the infected person remains relatively healthy. Once
symptomatic disease or AIDS develops, without access to antiretroviral
treatment, death results within an average of two years.
In high-income countries, an estimated 1.5 million people live with HIV,
many of them productively, due to pervasive antiretroviral therapy. In
the USA, the introduction of triple combination antiretroviral therapy
in 1996 led to a decline of 70% in deaths attributable to HIV/AIDS.
TheGuidelines for Scaling Up Antiretroviral Therapy and the 2002 WHO
Model List of Essential Drugs are available on WHO web site:
http://www.who.int/
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For further information, journalists can contact: Daniela Bagozzi,
Communications, Heath Technology and Pharmaceuticals, WHO, Geneva, tel.
(+41 22) 791 4544, mobile (+41) 79 475 5490, e-mail bagozzid@who.int or
Chris Powell, Family and Community Health, WHO, Geneva, Tel (+41 22) 791
2888, mobile (+41) 79 217 3425, e-mail powellc@who.int.
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