WHO unveils plans to treat 3 million by 2005
The World Health Organisation has published details of its plan to bring antiretroviral treatment to 3 million people living with HIV by the end of 2005.
International experts have agreed that a triple combination of d4T (stavudine), 3TC (lamivudine) and nevirapine is likely to be the best option for swift implementation of antiretroviral treatment in resource-limited settings. The recommendation was agreed at a WHO and UNAIDS-sponsored consultation in Zambia in mid-November, and follows a similar recommendation from a consensus meeting sponsored by Medecins sans Frontieres in September.
Community mobilisation key to success of 3 x 5
The WHO 3 x 5 plan envisages that community-based organisations, including groups of people living with HIV, will play a key role in scaling up treatment. This is not just a measure to plug gaps in the health services of heavily affected countries, but a response to evidence from early pilot programmes. These programmes have demonstrated that community participation is a key element in ensuring the acceptability of treatment. Making treatment part of the social fabric rather than a hidden enterprise is the only way to ensure long-term adherence.