Partner agencies support new guideline on antiretrovirals

Mark Dybul, Executive Director, The Global Fund

"We welcome the early release of this guideline. The two recommendations are critically important to moving us towards the fast-track treatment and prevention goals. Expanding access to treatment and prevention, especially for key populations and adolescent girls, is now a major global health challenge that requires our collective commitment and determination. We must embrace ambition if we are going to end HIV as a public health threat.”

Deborah L. Birx, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator & U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy

"PEPFAR applauds the World Health Organization on the release of their ‘Guideline on when to start antiretroviral therapy and on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.’ This guideline expands life-saving treatment access to all persons living with HIV (PLHIV) and highlights new developments in HIV prevention, including PrEP.‎ These are transformative to epidemic control. Short of an HIV vaccine or cure, this gives us the critical tools we need to create an AIDS-free generation utilizing the FAST TRACK strategy. ‎ We have no excuses - it is up to us to seize this moment and chart a bold course together to end AIDS as a public health threat.‎"

Emilio A. Emini, Director, HIV Program Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“The new guidelines are welcome. They provide a critical opportunity to ensure proven prevention options such as PrEP are widely available to those who will benefit most, and will strengthen efforts to increase the proportion of people on treatment who achieve effective viral suppression.”

Fabio Mesquita, Director of the Department of STI/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis, Ministry of Health, Brazil

"In Brazil, we adopted treatment for all from December 2013 and since then we’ve included people sooner in treatment, benefiting our community with the strategic use of ART. That is why we encourage all countries to adopt the new directions as a decisive step in this ongoing global commitment to fight HIV/AIDS."

Tsitsi Mutasa-Apollo, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe

"The evidence for early treatment initiation is overwhelming. It is now time to act and ensure that every individual who is found to be HIV positive is initiated on treatment early regardless of their CD4 count or clinical presentation. On the other hand, concerted effort and commitment is needed to address operational challenges within countries, and importantly to make safer, tolerable, and affordable ARV medicines available to all who need them".

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS

“Everybody living with HIV has the right to life-saving treatment. The new guidelines are a very important step towards ensuring that all people living with HIV have immediate access to antiretroviral treatment."

Craig McClure, Associate Director, Programme Division, UNICEF

“The world cannot end the AIDS epidemic if children and adolescents are left behind. We welcome WHO’s new recommendation to offer treatment to all people at whatever age immediately upon diagnosis and to recommend PrEP as part of combination prevention to people at high risk of HIV infection.”

Suzette M. Moses-Burton, Executive Director, Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+)

“The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) commends the recommendations of the WHO’s revised guidelines, which bring the latest scientific and programmatic evidence to global and national efforts to end the HIV epidemic. This evidence has fundamental implications for improving the quality of life for people living with HIV, and demonstrates that universal access to treatment is essential. As a network of people living with HIV, we are committed to ensuring that universal access to treatment and prevention is a reality for all. However, it is imperative that access to care is offered without coercion, upholding the rights and dignity of people living with HIV. We call upon governments to ensure that the freedom to make choices about treatment and prevention is upheld as they revise their national guidelines and programmes.”

Chris Beyrer, President, International AIDS Society

"Providing antiretroviral treatment upon diagnosis is the best way to preserve the health of people living with HIV and PrEP ensures prevention equity for all. The WHO adoption of these treatment and prevention measures in their guidelines is a major milestone for the HIV/AIDS response. This sends a signal that I hope will inspire governments, funders, and the international community to act now.”

Wafaa El-Sadr, Director ICAP and the Global Health Initiative at Columbia University

“The recommendations in support of universal treatment for persons with HIV and for use of PrEP among those at substantial risk provide an unprecedented opportunity to enhance the lives of people living with HIV and to stem the spread of the HIV epidemic.”

Mitchell Warren, Executive Director, AVAC

“If implemented, these sweeping recommendations have the potential to change the world by simplifying ART for people living with HIV and revolutionizing prevention for people at risk. So it is, first, a moment for some celebration. At AVAC, we can’t think of another time in the history of the epidemic when there has been a simultaneous game-changing shift on two fronts—prevention and treatment."

Asia Russell, Executive Director, Health GAP

“Quality treatment for all is a human right. Period. There is no time to waste-- governments around the world must act on the science and overturn unjust and deadly HIV treatment access inequities. It is feasible, it must be done, and donors and implementing country governments must pay for it.”

Kenly Sikwese, Coordinator at the African Community Advisory Board (AFROCAB)

"This is one of the major milestones since the discovery of highly active antiretroviral therapy-HAART. It will enable more people with HIV live better quality lives, drastically reduce TB episodes and save many lives."

Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Executive Director of Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM)

"APCOM welcomes the guidelines, which aim to reduce the treatment cascade by immediate ART initiation at any CD4 count, as well as recommending an additional prevention option for those that can benefit from PrEP."

Martin Choo, Peer Research Consultant, Board Member (Asia Pacific) Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), Member Inter-Organizational Task Team on Community Systems Strengthening, APN Plus Positive Change

"On behalf of people living with HIV in the Asia Pacific, where HIV treatment access and prevention options are often socially determined, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the WHO for leading the way in ensuring that effective treatment and prevention are shared realities and the inalienable right of all people. Am also grateful to the WHO for ensuring that the voices of people living with HIV have been heard throughout the entire guidelines development process."

Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho, Assistant Director General for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO

“The world has just committed to ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases by 2030 – an ambitious, but feasible set of targets. The recommendations we are releasing today will be critical for reaching the sustainable development goal on health by expanding the benefits of antiretroviral treatment to all people living with HIV, and adding another prevention component for people at substantial risk of HIV.”

Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of Department of HIV/AIDS, WHO

"These new recommendations will have tremendous impact on peoples’ lives, if rapidly implemented. So we must work together to support countries to translate them into action and results."

資料來源：Partner agencies support new guideline on antiretrovirals