Report on the Global HIV/AIDS epidemic

Care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS

Box 16. Strengthening "horizontal" collaboration on HIV and sexually
transmitted infections in Latin America and the Caribbean
Building on a long tradition of joint collaboration in the region, and the desire for
more self-reliance and less dependency on donors, the Directors of national AIDS
programmes from 12 countries agreed in 1996 to set up a new process for "horizontal" interregional technical cooperation. As part of the reciprocal process of
exchanging experience, information and technology on equal terms, for example, the
Horizontal Technical Collaboration Group (HTCG) has encouraged intercountry visits
so that members can see first-hand how to improve drug management and distribu- '
tion in rural areas. Through a multicountry survey conducted by the Group on the
prices being paid for HIV-related drugs and commodities, countries became aware
of major price differences and were in a better position to negotiate price reductions
with pharmaceutical companies. Argentina, for instance, was able to reduce the cost
of measuring viral load from US$ 250 to US$ 70. The HTCG also provided the initial
impetus for establishing a revolving fund for HIV-related drugs under the auspices of
the Pan American Health Organization, WHO's Regional Office for the Americas. The
fund is now in its initial trial phase.
As of May 1999, 21 countries belonged to the HTCG* and efforts are now under way
to incorporate national AIDS programme Directors from Central America and from
the English-, Dutch- and French-speaking countries in the Caribbean.
* Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Comprehensive care and support strategy needed
In the early 1990s, WHO's Global Programme on AIDS advocated that care and support for people living with HIV or AIDS should be comprehensive- embracing the
psychological/spiritual, social and medical dimensions - and integrated, with the
various providers offering a "continuum of care" centred on the clients' needs.
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This vision remains relevant today. As discussed earlier (see page 85), people with
HIV infection need a range of measures to support them (and their families) in coping with their situation and to enable them to live healthy, productive lives for as long
as possible. Counsellors, religious communities and family members should provide
vital care and support at home and in the community. For diagnosis and therapy,
patients and their carers must in turn be able to rely on the support of health services, such as home and community care programmes, private practitioners, local
health centres, and clinics and hospitals..

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