AFRO-NETS> BMJ online: Devising new strategies for AIDS in the developing world

[Dieter Neuvians MD <neuvians@mweb.co.za>]

BMJ online: Devising new strategies for AIDS in the developing world
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British Medical Journal 2003; 326 (21 June)
 
This British Medical Journal?s issue dedicated its Education and De-
bate section to AIDS in the developing world. On p 1382 Brugha de-
scribes antiretroviral treatment in developing countries and states 
that only 5% of people who need antiretroviral treatment receive it. 
Antiretroviral drugs seem to be getting into informal private mar-
kets, and uncontrolled use of drugs could lead to rapid development 
of HIV resistance:
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj;326/7403/1382
 
Comparing HIV transmission in five different countries, Pisani and 
colleagues (p 1384) found that patterns of transmission of HIV vary 
widely. They say that strategies to fight transmission should be 
based on an understanding of local issues: 
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj;326/7403/1384
 
Bhargava and Bigombe (p 1387) explore the economic factors related to 
the high mortality among parents in Africa and the problems faced by 
orphans. Subsidies for fostering, which could come from debt relief 
programmes, can have a beneficial impact on orphans' school atten-
dance, training, and productivity:
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj;326/7403/1387
 
The cost of treating one person with antiretroviral drugs for a year 
is equivalent to that of preventing almost 50 cases. Potts and Walsh 
(p 1389) state that the priority should be prevention, not antiretro-
viral treatment. They explain the current impact of the epidemic in 
India and strategies available to contain it:
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj;326/7403/1389
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