Generics widen access to AIDS treatment
International staff: 6
National staff: 12
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An estimated 5 million South Africans now live with HIV/AIDS.
National policy has focused on prevention; and antiretroviral
ARV) medicines, which can prolong and improve quality of life
for AIDS patients, have been prohibitively expensive.
Already treating patients with brand-name ARVs since May
2001 in its HIV/AIDS program in Khayelitsha township, in
Western Cape province, MSF began to import generic ARVs from
Brazil in late 2001. Switching to generics meant the program
budget could meet the cost of treatment for twice as many people
as anticipated. By early summer 2002, 170 patients were
receiving ARVs. Patient compliance is good and the survival rate
has been 90%, even though most patients were at an advanced
stage of the illness when entering treatment.
In a dramatic policy shift, in April 2002 the South African
government announced it would immediately begin to supply
ARVs (which it had previously characterized as “toxic�) as postexposure
prophylaxis for rape survivors in public health facilities.
The government also promised to start treatment to prevent
mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT) in all public
health facilities by the end of 2002. MSF is closely monitoring
this to see if the government delivers on its promises.
Thanks to a pilot MTCT program at Khayelitsha, MSF estimates
has already prevented several hundred babies from being born
with HIV. In addition, up to 1,500 HIV-positive people seek consultations
for HIV-related infections each month in MSF's
three clinics.
MSF began HIV/AIDS work in South Africa in 1999.
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