Greater access sought to antiretroviral therapy

Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Yogyakarta

The international roundtable meeting on HIV/AIDS here concluded on Wednesday with participants agreeing on a new paradigm in the provision of therapy for people with the virus.

"This meeting has brought about a new spirit filled with solidarity, hope, thinking big, acting now and volunteerism. What we are learning is we try to minimize the pain and suffering caused by the epidemic and to improve people's quality of life.

"The countries in the region are becoming more autonomous, self-reliant, and empowered in the sense of knowing how to do that in difficult circumstances," a participant, Elizabeth Reid, a professor from the Australian National University, said.

A series of lectures and case-study presentations enlivened the meeting, which was titled "From International Collaboration Towards National Self-Reliance", and began on Monday.

Representatives of government institutions, universities and non-governmental organizations, as well as health professionals, people with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), and journalists from 15 countries took part in the event.

Samsuridjal Djauzi, coordinator of Access to Therapy and Diagnosis in the Working Group on AIDS at the University of Indonesia, said that in general the participants agreed to cooperate through regional and bilateral networks to improve access to anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy and to put human life above commercial ends.

Another participant, Prima, of the Yogyakarta PLWHA Network, called on people with HIV/AIDS to take the leading role in the nationwide drive against the virus.

"It is time for Indonesian PLWHAs to be active instead of relying on NGOs to take care of them. They can give engage in advocacy among the public and other similar activities," Prima said.

The participants also agreed to renew the strategic framework designed during the Canberra meeting last year, including building supportive environments where people living with HIV/AIDS prepare and plan to access treatment, improving access to HIV treatment for groups of people living with HIV/AIDS who are actively engaged in the response to the epidemic, supporting individuals and institutions committed to increasing access to HIV treatment, strengthening the readiness of health, legal and regulatory systems for equitable and appropriate access to treatment, ensuring an adequate supply of effective and affordable drugs from both generic and research-based manufacturers to meet increased demand, ensuring the involvement of civil society organizations, including organizations of people living with HIV/AIDS, in all treatment access initiatives, and building the capacity of communities and community organizations, as well as other partners to play a role in increasing treatment access.