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Cost Of Male Circumcision Prevents Wider Use In Uganda, Analysis Shows

The cost of male circumcision is preventing it from being used more widely adopted in Uganda as a way to help prevent men from contracting HIV, according to analysis of several districts in the country conducted by Makerere University School of Public Health researchers and the Ministry of Health with technical support from Family Health International, the Daily Monitor reports. Most household respondents thought medical male circumcision should be either free or government-subsidized or at a cost of about $2.40 (Kirunda, 7/29).

Crucell Partners With PATH, USAID To Speed Development Of Malaria Vaccine

The biotechnology company Crucell said it has entered into the collaboration with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and the USAID Malaria Vaccine Development (MVDP) Program that will speed up development of a malaria vaccine, Reuters reports. “Via funding from the MVDP, both Crucell and MVI will conduct studies to determine the effectiveness of Crucell’s vaccine against the malaria parasite. Crucell did not disclose any financial details,” the news service writes (Gray-Block, 7/29).

Cambodia Submits $145M Global Fund Proposal To Reduce HIV/AIDS

Cambodia has submitted a $145 million proposal to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that aims to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS over a five-year period, Mean Chhivun, director of the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD, said on Tuesday, the Phnom Penh Post reports. “‘Now we are waiting for an outcome,’ he said, adding that the government expected to hear a decision on the proposal by September,” the newspaper writes (Rith, 7/29).

Botswana Has Lowest Mother-To-Child HIV Transmission Rate In Africa, Study Says

Botswana has the lowest rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission for a breastfeeding population in Africa, according to a study by the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute, Mmegi Online reports. “The Mmabana Study, as the programme is called, also revealed that Maternal Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) from early in the third trimester of pregnancy through six months of breastfeeding is a safe and effective strategy for preventing mother-to-child-transmission of HIV/AIDS while allowing for the benefits of breastfeeding,” Mmegi Online writes (Baputaki, 7/28).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

On the eve of World AIDS Day 2009, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) praised the World Health Organization (WHO) for its new HIV treatment recommendations which include starting lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART) earlier (at a t-cell count of <350 cells/mm³ instead of <200) for all HIV-positive adults and adolescents and earlier treatment initiation for HIV-positive pregnant women who should now begin treatment at 14 weeks into pregnancy, rather than 28 weeks as previously recommended, and continue until the end of breastfeeding.

AHF has been advocating for such changes for more than a year and spearheaded a campaign Save Mothers’ and Infants’ Lives which generated a letter to WHO General Director, Dr. Margaret Chan urging an end to harmful single-dose HIV/AIDS treatment as a recommended treatment for expectant mothers and infants worldwide. The letter was signed by a coalition of hundreds of HIV/AIDS medical care providers and advocates, representing dozens of organizations, expressing concern over WHO’s outdated recommendation of short-course therapy (such as single-dose Nevirapine and/or Zidovudine) for expectant and breastfeeding mothers. Such therapy-standard practice in many resource-constrained settings-has been proven to be less effective at preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission as well as less safe for both mother and child than full-course Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART).

“AHF praises WHO for its leadership in updating its HIV treatment guidelines,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “We, along with hundreds of AIDS medical providers and advocates, have been urging these changes for some time now in order to put an end to the harmful use of sub-standard single-dose HIV treatment for expectant mothers and their newborns. Study after study has linked the use of single-dose treatments for expectant mothers to viral resistance, jeopardizing the effectiveness of future treatment and lowering the chances of a patient’s survival. Accepting the status quo and treating expectant mothers and infants in low-income countries with low-quality therapy-especially as the number of people accessing treatment increases-has had dire consequences and it is high time for this practice to end.”

“Those of us working in the field welcome these changes to the WHO guidelines, especially as the previous recommendations encouraged the continuation of single-dose treatment for pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child-transmission-a practice that endangers the lives of mothers and infants,” said Terri Ford, Senior Director of Global Policy/Advocacy for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Since most developing countries rely on the guidelines to help shape health policy, WHO’s leadership on this issue will go a long way toward widespread implementation of full-course therapy for all expectant mothers and infants. The lives of thousands of women and children will be saved.”

In addition to advocating for earlier treatment initiation for expectant mothers, AHF also led an effort urging WHO to revise its guidelines and raise the recommended treatment initiation threshold from a CD4+ T cell count of <200 cells/mm³ to <350 for all adults and adolescents living with HIV. The ART Initiation at <350 campaign urged this change in light of scientific evidence correlating earlier treatment with vastly improved health outcomes and lower death rates.

“AHF lauds WHO for these crucial changes recommending earlier treatment initiation,” said Jorge Saavedra, M.D., Chief of Global Affairs for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Raising the recommended treatment initiation threshold from a CD4+ T cell count of <200 to <350 has removed one more barrier to accessing lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment and will have a positive economic impact on resource-constrained countries, ultimately reducing the healthcare costs associated with the treatment of preventable HIV/AIDS-related conditions.

He added: “Most importantly, this change will significantly improve health outcomes, increasing the odds of survival for millions of people living with HIV/AIDS around the world.”

Source
AIDS Healthcare Foundation