Life
New targets set for controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean
PSHO said applying the new criteria to 2012 data would reduce the region’s coverage rate to 43 per cent and that expanding treatment would contribute to better health for people with HIV, reduce cases of AIDS and prevent new infections. PAHO said as a result, regional countries agreed to revise their models of care to make treatment more accessible.
It said data indicate that about 66 per cent of people with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean had suppressed viral loads in 2013. PAHO said reaching the 90 per cent target will require improved patient adherence to treatment. PAHO also said, “Suppressed viral load is critical for controlling the harmful effects of HIV infection on people’s health and also significantly reduces the risk of infecting others.”
“To promote adherence and keep patients under treatment, HIV health care must be decentralized to levels that allow greater interaction with the community,” PAHO said, noting that countries also agreed on a fourth target: reducing delayed diagnosis. As of 2013, it said half of countries providing data reported that at least a third of people with HIV were at an advanced stage of immunological disease at the time of their diagnosis. PAHO said this situation has been improving, however, with late diagnoses declining from 40 per cent to 35 per cent between 2012 and 2013, reflecting expanded HIV testing in a number of countries.
Source: Caribbean360
