This weeks featured project : Médecins Sans Frontières Australia

Aug 2003

China : Medecins Sans Frontieres and health authorities combine forces in HIV/AIDS pilot project

On Monday 11 August, Chinese health authorities officially agreed that the Médecins Sans Frontières supported HIV/AIDS project in Xiangfan City, in the province of Hubei, is to be a pilot project for the whole country.

“This is a genuinely positive step forward for HIV/AIDS treatment in China,” explains Médecins Sans Frontières operations co-ordinator for Asia, François Fille. “It means that, if successful, the work we are undertaking in combination with the health authorities has the possibility of being replicated countrywide. And when you consider the magnitude of the threat of HIV/AIDS in such a vast country, the impact we can have is striking.”

© Natalie Behring
Inspection of medical supplies prior to distribution

Hubei province has an estimated 45, 000 HIV/AIDS sufferers, many of whom contracted HIV after selling blood to illegal blood banks several years ago, is integrated into the structures of the local health authority. In an attempt to address this problem, the Chinese Government recently started providing some ARVs in Hubei. These however mostly consist of Chinese generics, with which limited treatment alternatives are possible, some of which are seen as controversial due to their possible side-effects and lack of pre-qualification by the WHO.

In Xiangfan, Médecins Sans Frontières protocols are being followed for the prophylaxis of opportunistic infections (the diseases which prey on AIDS sufferers), alternative first-line anti-retroviral treatments (ART) and second-line ART. The importance is demonstrated by the fact that it is the only such programme in the whole of China to provide both prophylaxis and ART.

Médecins Sans Frontières has been working with HIV/AIDS sufferers in Xiangfan since May this year and by the end of July had carried out 104 consultations, 6 of which on children under 15 years of age. Currently 2 patients are undergoing ARV treatment and this number is set to steadily increase over the coming months.

“In co-operation with the health authorities, what we are aiming to implement is a full and comprehensive package of HIV/AIDS treatment and care,” explains Fille. “This includes safe nursing techniques, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), de-stigmatisation, patient support groups and the introduction of home-based care. It is a considerable challenge.”

A further test for Médecins Sans Frontières is assuring access to the necessary drugs in the developing pharmaceutical market in China. Currently 7 drugs and 1 combination are available in the country, out of the 11 essential ARVs and 3 combinations as stipulated by the WHO. Importation is also extremely difficult in China, but as Fille concludes, “we will be exploring every possible avenue to ensure that access to these life-saving treatments is improved.”

Caring for victims of war
The peace process between northern and southern Sudan that has been underway since 2002 has renewed hopes for an end to Africa's longest-running civil war. The conflict has cost almost two million lives, mostly civilians who have died from hunger and disease. Yet amid talk of peace between the north and the south, the westernmost region of Sudan, Darfur, became the site of a growing catastrophe in the past year.

For years, MSF has assisted people in both northern and southern Sudan, providing basic health care at hospitals or through networks of clinics and health centers. Its work has included treating people with tuberculosis (TB), kala azar (visceral leishmaniasis) and other diseases; providing food; and treating the severely malnourished. MSF also delivers clean drinking water and provides sanitary facilities in areas where displaced people have sought shelter. » More

COUNTRY PROFILE Sudan
Population: 32,559,000
Life expectancy: 57 years
Expatriate staff: 282 | National staff: 3,657
MSF has worked in Sudan since 1979.

Sudan

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