Antiretroviral drugs and therapy (ART)

The World Health Organization (WHO) worked on the revision of the Use of antiretroviral drugs for treating pregnant women and preventing hiv infection in infants: recommendations for a public health approach, 2006, through a series of coordinated efforts to review and synthesize emerging evidence.

The full costs of providing treatment, the share of costs across entities involved directly or indirectly in the program, and the possible financial implications of a more scaled-up program were not much discussed or analyzed in the country, leaving open many questions regarding the cost of the program and the implications of scaling up access to treatment. The present study attempts to fill this gap by carrying out a financial analysis of the recurrent costs of the ART program of the government of India.

Our research for this report, Missing the Target 7, has reinforced the need for governments, UN agencies, donors and indeed civil society to look beyond the magic bullet of administering a pill each to mother and baby in order to stem the annual toll of preventable infections and deaths in newborns.

The Generic Tools project is part of WHO's broader efforts to facilitate operational research on HIV testing, treatment and prevention.

Facts and Figures on ART in Nepal:  Anti‐retroviral treatment started in Nepal in February 2004 from Teku Hospital.  Government is providing free of cost ART service for all those in need.  There is a National ART Guidelines and SOP for the clinical management of ART in Nepal.

Acknowledging the need to share experiences and lessons learned in order to inform future direction, the U.S. Government (USG), World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners organized the first “Regional workshop on strengthening ART data use in Asia and the Pacific: examples from USG, national and multilateral partners” in Bangkok, Thailand from 18-19 May 2009.

The WHO guidelines Antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in infants and children are based on a public health approach to HIV care. Updated in 2010, these guidelines are harmonized with the treatment guidelines adopted for adults, pregnant women, and for prevention of mother- to- child transmission (PMTCT). 

This guideline revision was conducted in accordance with procedures outlined by the WHO Guidelines Review Committee and is based on the GRADE approach to evidence review. The process involved four separate working groups: the Internal WHO ART Guideline Working Group, the ART Guideline Drafting Group, the external ART Peer Review Panel and the full ART Guideline Review Committee.

In an effort to maximize the value of antiretroviral therapy, a radically simplified approach is needed. This includes the development of better combination treatment regimens, cheaper and simplified diagnostic tools, and a low-cost community-led approach to delivery.

The 2010 guidelines are developed to provide international standards, primarily for low- and middle income settings, in support of the global scale-up of more effective interventions aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT) in resource-limited settings.