… Says new ARV regimen has been introduced
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Setting the record straight.
The Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, through a statement sent out this afternoon, has taken her time to explain the inaccurate rumours of alleged shortage of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in the country.
The minister, who also doubles as a Senator, said the Ministry of Health had noted continuous misinformation circulating on social media platforms about the unavailability of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in the country.
“The claims of ARV shortages are misleading the nation and are meant to cause panic among the over 200 000 people benefitting from this service. The misleading reports also allege that the Ministry is focusing on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP), which is totally false since PREP only covers a few clients compared to those on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
“The real issue is that the country’s ART programme has introduced some changes to the ARV treatment regimen. This transition process is on-going and involves the introduction of a new ARV regimen to replace the older one. This decision was based on WHO guidelines, which recommended the newer ARV regimen as more effective in suppressing the virus in those who use it,” said Nkosi.
She further explained that the change to the new ARV regimen has resulted in some patients not being comfortable and thus requesting a shift back to the older ARV regimen, saying this has de-stabilized stock levels as procurement of medicines was done based on a higher number of patients being on the new fixed-dose ARV regimen.
“Therefore, patients who are using the older ARV regimen are now being given the separate pills until newer stocks of the fixed-dose older regimen are delivered. The Nation is assured that using separate ARV pills is not different from the fixed-dose regimen in terms of ability of the medication to suppress the HIV in their bodies.
“The ministry acknowledges the inconvenience to patients and would like to assure them that this problem will be rectified soon. The ministry requests for patience among patients, especially those who have previously been on a three-month and six-month refill arrangement. Patients are requested to seek clarification from their healthcare providers in case of any misunderstanding pertaining their HIV treatment,” she said.
The Minister of Health further said the Government of Eswatini was committed to combatting the HIV and AIDS pandemic and from the introduction of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) has made continuous improvements on the number of people enrolled and retained on treatment.
“The ministry and development partners have continued to implement surveillance, assessments and monitoring and evaluation to track our progress. The recent Eswatini Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (SHIMS3) conducted from May to November 2021 showed that 93.7 per cent of adults (aged 15 years and older) living with HIV are aware of their HIV-positive status, of those 97.3 per cent are on treatment and 96.2 per cent of those had suppressed viral loads. At 94-97-96, Eswatini has surpassed the UNAIDS targets for treatment and viral suppression in advance of the 2025 target date, providing clear evidence of the effectiveness of the country’s HIV treatment programs.”
Nkosi further mentioned that to ensure that ARVs are continuously available; the funds for procurement of ARVs are ring-fenced and can only be used for procurement of ARVs.
“We ensure that there is stock to cover the needs for four to seven months and additionally we have financial backup support from the Global Fund and PEPFAR, the only drugs that have this arrangement. “On that note, we request emaSwati to trust the Ministry of Health’s guidance. We have come a long way and are not about to drop the ball now. Currently, we are looking forward to the introduction of the new long-acting ARV that will be an additional option for patients.”
