[afro-nets] WHO's 3X5 Garnered Momentum For Universal ARV Access

[Leela McCullough <leela@healthnet.org>]

WHO's 3 By 5 Initiative Has Garnered Momentum For Universal
Antiretroviral Access, Provided Lessons For Future Initiatives,
Editorial Says
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http://www.kaisernetwork.org

31 Jan 2006

The World Health Organization's 3 by 5 Initiative -- which aimed
to treat three million HIV-positive people in developing coun-
tries with antiretroviral drugs by December 2005 -- "has gener-
ated real momentum behind providing broad access to antiretrovi-
ral therapy," but it is important to learn from the "missed"
goal of the initiative when making future plans, a Lancet edito-
rial says:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473309906703565/fulltext

The editorial says that the initiative has made "considerable
progress" since its launch in 2003 despite WHO's June 2005 pro-
gress report, which showed that the initiative was 600,000 peo-
ple short of its original goal of 1.6 million people receiving
antiretroviral treatment by that date. New efforts are being fo-
cused toward providing antiretroviral drugs to all HIV-positive
people in developing nations because the 3 by 5 initiative has
shown how much can be achieved with "sufficient will and re-
sources," according to the editorial. However, barriers to
achieving the universal access goals -- including "inadequate
leadership at the national level, a global system that does not
efficiently address bottlenecks, [and] inadequate and uncertain
funding from the major donors" -- must be recognized, the edito-
rial says. The editorial "wholly endorse[s]" several action
points from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition
report, including that pledged resources be distributed more ef-
ficiently; that a "better collaboration between WHO, UNAIDS, bi-
lateral donors, and funding bodies such as the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, with a clear assignment
of responsibilities" be formed; that detailed plans for nations
to help with the "treatment scale-up" and plans to which WHO,
UNAIDS and governments will be held accountable the countries in
which these agencies work. Unless these barriers are addressed
in "plans for universal access" to antiretrovirals, "there is a
danger of jumping from one over ambitious target to another,"
the editorial says (Lancet, February 2006).

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--
Leela McCullough, Ed.D.
Director of Information Services
SATELLIFE
30 California Street, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
Tel: +1-617-926-9400
Fax: +1-617-926-1212
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