HIV and Tuberculosis co-infection still a killer
24th March 2015 - On World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, Tuesday 24 th March, the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) reminds the global AIDS response and the movement of people living with HIV that universal access to TB diagnostics and treatment, as well as integrated HIV and tuberculosis service delivery are of crucial importance for addressing HIV and AIDS and saving the lives of people living with HIV.
There are over one million people worldwide living with HIV and TB co-infection, and TB is the main cause of death for one quarter of people living with HIV. This burden is particularly high in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than three quarters of people with HIV
live. Compounding this, national programs fail to detect an estimated three million TB cases a year.
Worryingly, the number of cases of multi-drug resistant TB (forms of tuberculosis resistant to two or more of the primary drugs) continues to rise, and is particularly concentrated in middle-income countries like India, China and Russia. New medications for multi-drug resistant TB are not readily accessible in middle income
countries. “In an environment where financing to middle income countries continues to decrease, we call on donors to support access to TB diagnostics and drugs,
including through innovative strategies to reduce the price of drugs for multi-drug resistant TB wherever they are needed,” says Suzette Moses-Burton, Executive Director of GNP+.
Failure to integrate HIV and TB services compounds the difficult access to TB detection and care. Suzette Moses-Burton adds: “despite the presence of HIV and TB in the same hotspots, services are often provided separately. Not only is this cost inefficient, it means lots of missed opportunities to reach people and keep them in the continuum of care. It also means people living with HIV spend more time and money trying to access care.”
GNP+ calls on national health ministries and national AIDS commissions to work together with civil society and networks of people living with HIV to produce joint, realistic and adequately resourced TB and HIV plans and programmes. GNP+ further calls upon the community of people living with HIV to take a leadership role in advocating for access to TB diagnostics and drugs and integrated service delivery.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
GNP+: Victoria Clarke, External Relations & Communications Officer
vclarke@gnpplus.net
Office: +31 (0)21 423 4114
Skype: vclarkegnpplus
Source: The Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)
The Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)
The Global Network of People Living With HIV (GNP+) is the global network for and by people living with HIV. Its mission is to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV. The vision is a powerful and united worldwide social movement of people living with HIV, with their leadership and voices at the centre of the HIV response. GNP+'s objective is equitable access to health and social services for people living with HIV by focusing on social justice, rights and involvement. This will be achieved through GNP's purpose, which is to promote the greater and more meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in programme and policy development (the GIPA principle). For more information, please visit www.gnpplus.net. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
"Reproduced with permission - Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)"
Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)
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