Scaling up AIDS treatment in Africa : issues and challenges

Abstract

Until recently, the option of treatment for the majority of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa had seemed impossible: high costs, demanding treatment regimes and the lack of even basic health infrastructure in many heavily affected countries were all cited as potential insurmountable barriers. Today, the prospect of increasing resources coupled with the decreasing costs of treatment and the emergence of simpler treatment regimes, provides an opportunity to scale up national AIDS treatment and care responses in resource-limited settings. The priority is now for African countries to scale up from existing small projects to comprehensive treatment programmes.