This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Bollerup, A. R. Articles by Matic, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bollerup, A. R. Articles by Matic, S. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the WHO European Region 2003—2005

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark, Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark, anb{at}euro.who.int

Martin C. Donoghoe

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark

Jeffrey V. Lazarus

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark, Division of Social Medicine and Global Health, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Stine Nielsen

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark

Srdan Matic

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark

Aims: To assess changes in access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) between the end of 2002 and the end of 2005, and to review the capacity for further HAART scale-up in the then 52 Member States of the WHO European Region. Methods: Analysis of data from four surveys evaluating access to HAART, supplemented by regional estimates of the number of people receiving HAART. Changes in access to HAART are evaluated in terms of changes in the number of people receiving HAART over time and changes in country-level HAART coverage. Results: During 2003—2005, the total number of individuals receiving HAART increased by an estimated 101,000, from 242,000 to 343,000 (a 42% increase); 85,000 were in the west region (a 36% increase) and 16,000 in the centre and east regions (a 229% increase). The number of countries providing "high'' coverage with HAART (>75% of those in need receiving it) increased from 29 to 38, and the number of countries providing no HAART declined from eight to four. Conclusions: Despite high and increasing coverage in many European countries, access to HAART remained inequitable in terms of geographical location. By the end of 2005, all countries in the west provided "high'' HAART coverage as compared with half of countries in the centre and east. Six east countries still provided poor or no HAART coverage. Countries must address how to further equitably increase the number of people receiving HAART.

Key Words: Antiretroviral therapy • access • HIV/AIDS • Europe

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 36, No. 2, 183-189 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1403494807085191


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?