South Africa’s new anti-retroviral to revolutionize HIV treatment

South Africa has launched a new, extremely cheap anti-retroviral drug that could revolutionize AIDS treatment, according to reports in Huffington Post and Salon.

The new anti-retroviral, a three-in-one drug, costs about $10 per patient per single dose. It may be the cheapest treatment for HIV yet.

“Before 2010, we were buying the most expensive ARVs in the world. Now we are a country where the ARVs are the cheapest in the world,” South Africa’s health minister Aaron Motsoaledi proudly stated. “It means we can increase the number of people on treatment.”

The pill will be introduced to South Africans this April. High on the priority of people to receive this new treatment are HIV-positive pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and new patients co-infected with tuberculosis. After doctors have assessed them, patients on a previous treatment will be made to switch later this year.

In addition to being easier to swallow, the pill also has fewer side effects than previous treatments: “Last week when we had our meeting with NGOs, everybody was excited about the new treatment as it will bring improvement and reduce side effects and improve compliance," to quote CEO of the South African National AIDS Council, Dr. Fareed Abdullah.

Lobby groups claim the rollout as a landmark victory. Similarly, health advocates believe the new once-a-month anti-retroviral is a breakthrough in ease of access and treatment.

“This is simplifying the way patients have become used to taking ARV treatment,” said Dr. Abdullah. “We have come a very long way since the advent of anti-retrovirals. At one point, patients used to take up to 16 pills a day.”

South Africa, possessing the world’s largest infected population at an alarming 5.9 million people, has been ravaged by HIV. Nearly a third of all South African schoolgirls are infected with the virus. — BM, GMA News