Access to combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is expanding in Latin America (Mexico, Central America, and South America) and the Caribbean.
It acts as a global subsidy to provide greater access to combination therapy for malaria, particularly through private-sector drug retailers in developing countries.
We studied the incidence of tuberculosis, AIDS, AIDS deaths and AIDS-TB co-infection at the population level in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where universal and free access to combination antiretroviral therapy has been available since 1997.
With ready access to combination therapies and distribution of ITNs, responses were excellent for artemisinin-containing regimens, severe malaria was not seen, and the incidence of malaria and prevalence of parasitemia and anemia decreased steadily over time.
These favourable findings highlight the need to expand access to combination antiretroviral therapy in populations affected by armed conflict.
28 Identifying programmatic strategies for maintaining access to combination antiretroviral therapy during movements of populations would also be applicable to newly displaced populations.
The expanding access to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) worldwide has delayed disease progression and decreased morbidity and mortality [ 1, 2].
Our study validates recent policies set out by the WHO and UNHCR about HIV treatment in complex emergencies and shows the imperative of expanding access to combination antiretroviral therapy to populations affected by armed conflict.
The rapid expansion of access to combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the treatment of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade has occurred against a backdrop of persistent poverty, underdevelopment, and widespread food insecurity [ 1, 2].
In many countries, access to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is limited as are choice of drugs and treatment options, and monitoring of treatment efficacy with CD4-cell count and HIV-RNA measurements is often not possible [ 5].
