A recent report* by the World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UNICEF and has provided further recognition of the quality of treatment offered to people with AIDS in Brazil.

The report found that 80% of Brazilians with HIV receive antiretroviral therapy, compared with the average of 31% among low- and middle-income countries.

In 1996, Brazil was one of the first countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to commit to a policy of offering free antiretroviral medicines to anyone with HIV – one of the major initiatives in an approach to AIDS that has often received international praise. It is the major factor behind the relatively low death rate among Brazilian AIDS patients, and the relatively low number who need to be admitted to hospital.

One of the Brazilian government’s main strategies for guaranteeing the sustainability of the policy is that of actively negotiating contracts with pharmaceutical companies. Radical measures have occasionally also been adopted, such as bypassing the patent for the antiretroviral drug Efavirenz in 2007.

* Towards Universal Access – Scaling Up Priority HIV/AIDS Interventions in the Health Sector – 2008 Progress Report

Source: Agência Brasil and Embassy of Brazil in London