Massive AIDS treatment program gets Panama launch

LATIN AMERICA could have about two million people on antiretroviral treatment by 2015 if the new WH0  guidelines are effectively applied,

 The statement came from Cesar Nunez, director of UNAIDS for Latin America and the Caribbean, in Panama on Monday, July 15

Nunez said there are about 800 thousand Latin Americans, a total of 9.7 million worldwide, with access to antiretroviral therapy, a figure that, according to him, would significantly increase the use of intensified treatment.

He was participating in Panama along with other experts from WHO and UNAIDS in the Latin American launch of the "Processing 2015", which aims to reach 15 million people on antiretroviral treatment within two years.

The new guidance program allows quicker delivery of treatment to those infected and invites countries to initiate antiretroviral care programs,

The expert acknowledged that the proposed target is a "great challenge", especially for countries with few resources, but said he was convinced that the new approach will not only reduce the number of deaths but also allow you to have a productive life for young people who have become infected or those born with the virus.

Hs noted that countries will have to allocate 10% more than they currently contribute to implement "effective action” of the proposed new treatment.

If Latin America, as expected, "continues to show economic growth,  it could use some of that growth to meet the challenges in the area of ??health," he added.

He said that rather than an expense, that 10% would be seen as an investment because they allow countries to reduce hospital costs as well as the emergence of "opportunistic infections" and labor costs for days lost to illness.

He noted that one of the biggest challenges to be faced by the health organizations over the next two years will be getting people who may be infected attend health centers for starting a treatment program.