Suchergebnisse

Explores the extent to which access to HIV-related drugs is shaped by the conflict between health & profit motives under capitalism, with particular implications for developing countries. Taking the case of South Africa, which has selected HIV drugs using the Essential Drugs & Medicines Policy recommendations of the World Health Organization, the appropriateness of this selection procedure is debated. Factors limiting access to these drugs in South Africa are reviewed, highlighting affordability issues & an underdeveloped infrastructure. Political & economic interests that constrain attempts to improve access are identified. 7 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

The spectre of AIDS is haunting Africa. If present trends continue, its impact on development and society will be devastating. This issue of ROAPE looks at some of the graphic realities of the situation as faced by those who must cope. It also explores the struggles and debates around who might take responsibility - for delivering programmes of prevention and care, for making affordable drugs available to those in need and for dealing with the consequences of loss wreaked by the epidemic. If families bear the heaviest burden, what role do states, NGOs and international agencies have in managing the crisis and in averting the worst scenarios? These questions have to be considered in context. (...) There are many facets to the question of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The articles in this volume touch only some of them, but individually and collectively they point to the importance of situating the analysis of the epidemic and its effects into a framework of political economy. (ROAPE/DÜI)

South Africa already has the world's biggest antiretroviral (ARV) programme. With the introduction of extended criteria for initiating ARVs, the National Department of Health wishes to increase the number of people on ARVs by around two million over the next 2 years. Adoption of a chronic disease management model, with extended task shifting, decentralisation and new approaches to distribution of ARVs, must be embraced if this is to be successfully achieved without huge increases in resources. In this editorial we discuss the need for change, and the current substantial blocks to progress (principally in prescribing and dispensing legislation) that contradict national treatment guidance and should be addressed as a matter of urgency. In addition, we draw attention to threatened regulatory changes that may further worsen the situation.