6.2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are on anti-retroviral treatment in the moment, an unthinkable number of people some years ago. That is the reason why cutting the funding of UNAIDS and the Global Fund would spell out disaster. The opposite should be the case to beat the pandemic: 1.1 million people more on treatment since 2010 – let’s double the number in the next years every year and get the now 56% of people on treatment to the 100%. Treatment is prevention, we would cut down with new infections a great deal.
Also the price cut from US $ 15.000 to US $ 80 today – what an achievement. Let’s not play with what we have achieved so far because with the exception of South Africa, most treatment programs in sub-Saharan Africa are funded from outside Africa. So we need the world to continue assisting us in the fight. And not only in funding, but also in watching out when doing trade agreements. 80% of all drugs coming here are from India. And we know that some European states and the USA are trying to cut down on the Indian ability to produce those life-saving drugs for trademark infringements. Every trade agreement which stops India to produce those drugs is a death sentence for people in Africa and in other places around the world. So one can only ask those in charge of negotiations to have these facts in mind and not ending up to sign up for bi-lateral agreements with the consequence of having blood on their hands.
Filed under: General, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Society and living environment, Africa, Aids, anti-retroviral, ART, blood, death sentence, europe, free trade, Global Fund, HAART, hiv, HIV Treatment, india, people living with the virus, Politics and Society, science, south africa, sub-saharan, trade, trade agreement, trademark infringements, unaids, usa
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