Study: 80% HIV patients on ART

 THE National AIDS Council Secretariat (NACS) has reported that more than 80% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) are now on anti-retroviral treatment (ART).

According to its status report on the HIV epidemic in PNG and current response brief to the special parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS, a total of 10,494 PLHIV, including children, were now on ART. 

“This represents 83.74% of HIV positive people who require ART. Globally,  this level of achievement is regarded as best practice as not many countries have achieved this level of ART coverage,” the report said.

It stated that PNG had made a remarkable progress in its response to the HIV epidemic in the past five years.

Some of the progress includes a national HIV prevalence decline from 1.62% in 2006 to 0.8% in 2010 based on surveillance data, increase in the number of HIV counselling and testing sites from four in 2004 to 266 to date and the number of people tested annually for HIV increasing from 1,407 in 2004 to 138,581 in 2010. 

The study also reveals the decline in HIV-related stigma and discrimination,   with recent independent review group report indicating that it was now possible to discuss HIV with political leaders, businesses, health settings and the general public.