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Three Latin American
countries—Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic—are working to
strengthen their ability to manage drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS as part of a
pilot project supported by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health
Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. The
goal is to prevent shortages of antiretroviral drugs, a problem that countries
in Latin America and the Caribbean have experienced. To avoid such shortages,
the countries are working to improve supply systems for HIV/AIDS medications
and transparency in drug management information.
Antiretroviral drug shortages,
called “stock-outs,” can result in dangerous treatment interruptions for
persons with HIV/AIDS, and can lead to drug resistance requiring review and
treatment changes. Latin America and the Caribbean have higher levels of
antiretroviral drug coverage than any other developing region, but they also
experience challenges in maintaining and increasing coverage. Approximately 68
percent of people in Latin America and 67 percent in the Caribbean who need
antiretroviral drug treatment are receiving it. In 2011, more than half of
Latin American and Caribbean countries (14 of 26; 54 percent) had at least one
antiretroviral stock-out. These were mainly due to problems with bidding,
purchasing, and distribution processes or complications with drug production.
At the beginning of the pilot
project, PAHO/WHO, in cooperation with the Global Fund, sponsored an
information exchange among the national health authorities, strategic partners,
and civil society representatives of each country, to analyze problems that
could affect the drug supply. The three countries are using the PAHO/WHO
Regional Platform on Access and Innovation for Health Technologies, which
provides online tools to systematize and share information.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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