Combating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has integrated its treatment of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) as TB has become the number one killer of HIV/AIDS patients. An HIV positive person is 10 times more likely to develop TB than a healthy person. This combination is becoming even more deadly with the appearance of multidrug-resistant TB, which is resistant to the two most important TB medications.

Substantial increase in MSF HIV/AIDS patients

In 2010 MSF substantially increased the number of HIV patients in its care receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), from 164,509 to more than 183,000. Fewer than two per cent of the patients receiving ART are receiving second-line treatment. In total, MSF provided care for more than 210,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and during this period of expansion, the quality of care remained high.

Drop in global HIV/AIDS funding

2010 saw an international retreat on funding commitments for HIV/AIDS care. MSF continued to call for universal access to ART for people living with HIV and in need of treatment, and to prioritize full integration of HIV and TB care, with a one-stop consultation for co-infected patients. The organization lobbied governments and various international donor institutions, and presented a report at the XVIIIth Conference of the International AIDS Society in Austria in July.

Progress on TB

Progress was made on TB treatment in 2010, with MSF treating more than 30,090 patients during the year. Several improvements were made in practices, for example, in terms of ensuring patients’ adherence to MSF’s therapy and counselling programs.

Multidrug-resistant TB

Multidrug-resistant TB is much more difficult to treat than drug-sensitive TB, requiring more expensive medication (usually with more side effects) and longer treatment. Despite this greater complexity, MSF has developed a simplified treatment protocol allowing multidrug-resistant TB care to be integrated into TB/HIV programs in resource-limited settings. In 2009 and 2010 this protocol was introduced in five project countries, with 69 patients commencing treatment. In addition, the joint MSF and Ministry of Health program in Uzbekistan has been expanded to a total of four districts, with 385 patients with multidrug-resistant TB enrolled in 2010. In total, MSF treated 1,159 patients for multidrug-resistant-TB in 2010.