title: Antiretroviral therapy in resource-poor countries: illusions and realities.
abstract: The prospects for antiretroviral therapy in resource-poor settings have changed recently and considerably with the availability of generic drugs, the drastic price reduction of brand-name drugs, and the simplification of treatment. However, such cost reductions, although allowing the implementation of large-scale donor programs, have yet to render treatment accessible and possible in the general population. Successfully providing HIV treatment in high-prevalence/high-caseload countries may require that we redefine the problem as a public health mass therapy program rather than a multiplication of clinical situations. The public health goal cannot simply be the reduction of morbidity and mortality for those treated but must be the reduction in morbidity and mortality for the many, that is, at a population level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032, USA. md108@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Moïse
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Desvarieux
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Landman
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liautaud
authors.forename: Pierre-Marie
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Girard
mesh_terms: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000941:ethics*; D003906:Developing Countries; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000191:economics*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics*; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents; D016568:Drugs, Generic