Missing the Target #5: Improving AIDS Drug Access ... - CD8 T cells

BelizeBy Caleb Orozco, United Belize Advocacy MovementAs of the second quarter of 2007, the officially reportednumber of people living with HIV/AIDS in Belize totaled4,035, but UNAIDS 2006 country profile estimates suggestthe number infected could be 5,700, with only 31% gettingARV treatment. WHO report estimates of around 10,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS. Of 587 people accessing treatment, 529 were adults and 58 were children,10 of whom were on second-line medications.Access to essential medicines can be especially difficult in small countries such asBelize. Because quantities procured are relatively small, foreign pharmaceuticalcompanies often consider such orders low priority and thus do not process thempromptly, waiting for several orders to accumulate before filling them.In December 2005, the Belize government sought to address this problemby arranging with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to handleprocurement for ARVs. PAHO orders bulk supplies to minimize costs for bothproducers and purchasers. PAHO and the government each make purchasingdecisions based on the WHO’s list of ARVs that have been prequalified for qualityassurance.In the current fiscal year, the overall budget for the Ministry of Health’s NationalAIDS Program is about US$573,000. Of that amount the budget for ARVs is aboutUS$230,000. Beyond this, the Global Fund covers part of the cost of medicines forOIs and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The MoH has also received donationsof specific ARVs and OI drugs from the neighboring Mexican state, Quintana Roo;the charity, Aid for AIDS, and the Pfizer pharmaceutical company; but it is not clearhow donated ARVs are monitored for quality. Recently, the government addedthree new ARVs to the National Drug Formulary: tenofovir, fosamprenavir, andemtricitabine.Diagnostic servicesDiagnostic services are available in both the public and private sectors. Accordingto the national VCT coordinator, there are a total of seven facilities where HIV testsare offered. The MoH has sought to increase testing uptake through its “Know YourStatus” campaign. Officials report that more than 15,000 people were tested forHIV from 2003 to the end of October 2007.64