|
| Home » Guest Column » Dr._Kulasiri_Buddhakorala |
| |
 |
|
GUEST COLUMN |
|
| |
ARV Treatment:
A Unique Opportunity
Dr. Kulasiri Buddhakorala |
| |
| (The author is a consultant to
Sri Lanka’s National STD/AIDS Control Programme) |
| |
Sri Lanka continues to be a low
prevalence country despite its close proximity to high prevalence
countries in the region. This has resulted in a false sense
of security in the minds of many in the country. Should we,
as Sri Lankans, be contended about the situation when the number
of HIV cases is going up in all the other countries of the region
and there
remain a number of unanswered questions regarding the prevalence
of the epidemic in Sri Lanka? |
| |
| The question can be answered only if there is
a close scrutiny of the epidemic situation. Sri Lanka has reported
a little more than 500 HIV-positive cases since the beginning
of the epidemic. However, high mobility of people, both within
and outside the country, makes the nation highly vulnerable
to rapid spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. |
| |
Treatment is still not easily accessible to people
living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Many activists have advocated
and lobbied at various fora, including the World Bank, for making
the ARV treatment accessible to PLWHA in the country. And the
government at the highest political level and the administrative
level have accepted in principle that drugs should be made available.
And now, the National AIDS Committee, chaired by the Secretary
of Health, has provided guidelines
to the National STD/AIDS Control Program to develop a draft
plan for the provision of ARV treatment to HIV-positive people
in the country. |
| |
However, easy availability of ARV treatment is still a far
cry because of certain unresolved issues. The first and the
foremost is the issue of finances. There is shortage of funds
to make such treatment available. Lack of clinical expertise
to prescribe these drugs, laboratory facilities for necessary
investigations, manpower for counselling on drugs,
and other logistical problems have further hampered the availability
of treatment to PLWHA. |
| |
| The country has several ongoing prevention programmes. With
the attempt now to provide treatment to PLWHA, a new component
has been added to the prevention campaign. The setting provides
a unique opportunity for the study of the effects of provision
of ARV treatment on the prevention campaigns in the country. |
| |
| Some NGOs and private agencies have taken up the responsibility
of providing ARV treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS. This
move can prove to be a new beginning for the country in its
campaign against HIV/AIDS. |
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
| Previous
Guest Columns |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
