More people living longer with AIDS treatment

Uganda's relatively low rates of AIDS-related deaths can be attributed to the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), an expert has said. British scientists recently confirmed that nine out of 10 people using the treatment, which involves a combination of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), could expect to live up to an additional 10 years after starting therapy. Director for the country's Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) Dr Peter Mugyenyi, said because more people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda now had access to HAART, the country loses about 300 people a day to AIDS-related illnesses, compared with about 1,000 per day in other parts of Africa. JCRC currently provides more than 8,000 HIV-positive people with ARVs at the lowest combination cost of about US $28 for a month's supply. "HAART has been made more user-friendly and research is continuing to simplify it further. Patients were swallowing up to 18 pills per day but now they are taking between two to 12 pills per day. Some drugs are being combined into one tablet," Mugyenyi told the local newspaper, New Vision.