Pilot project for HIV/AIDS drug management supported by PAHO/WHO and the Global Fund may expand to other countries

Three Latin American countries - Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic - are working to strengthen their management of drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, as part of a pilot project supported by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

The project aims, among other things, to prevent shortages of antiretroviral drugs, a problem that has affected a number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic are participating in the pilot project, which seeks to improve supply systems for HIV/AIDS medications as well as transparency in drug management information. Other Latin American countries have asked to join the project in the coming months.

“The purchase and efficient management of antiretroviral drugs in the region is indispensable to guaranteeing sustainable access to these drugs,” said James Fitzgerald, PAHO/WHO senior advisor on essential medicines and biologicals, adding: “However, some countries in the Americas have experienced episodes of shortages of antiretrovirals, which has led to interruption of treatment for HIV/AIDS. Strengthening antiretroviral drug management systems is a public health priority.”