Reconciling the science and policy divide: The reality of scaling up antiretroviral therapy in South Africa

Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Reconciling the science and policy divide: The reality of scaling up antiretroviral therapy in South Africa
 
Creator Whiteside, Alan Cohen, Jamie Strauss, Michael
 
Subject Health Policy; Health Economics HIV; Health; Treatment; Health Policy; South Africa
Description With the world’s largest national treatment programme and over 340 000 incident casesannually, the response to HIV in South Africa is hotly contested and there is sometimes adissonance between activism, science and policy. Too often, policy, whilst well intentioned, isinformed only by epidemiological data. The state of the healthcare system and socioculturalfactors drive and shape the epidemic and its response. By analysis of the financial,infrastructural, human resources for health, and governance landscape in South Africa,we assess the feasibility and associated costs of implementing a universal test and treatprogramme. We situate a universal test and treat strategy within the governance, fiscal,human resources for health, and infrastructural landscape in South Africa. We argue that theresponse to the epidemic must be forward thinking, progressive and make the most of thebenefits from treatment as prevention. However, the logistics of implementing a universaltest and treat strategy mean that this option is problematic in the short term. We recommenda health systems strengthening HIV treatment and prevention approach that includes scalingup treatment (for treatment and prevention) along with a range of other prevention strategies.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2015-07-02
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/octet-stream text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajhivmed.v16i1.355
 
Source Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine; Vol 16, No 1 (2015); 5 pages 2078-6751 1608-9693
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajhivmed.org.za/index.php/hivmed/article/view/355/543 https://sajhivmed.org.za/index.php/hivmed/article/view/355/544 https://sajhivmed.org.za/index.php/hivmed/article/view/355/546 https://sajhivmed.org.za/index.php/hivmed/article/view/355/521
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2015 Alan Whiteside, Jamie Cohen, Michael Strauss https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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