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Midlands Correspondent
THE National Aids Council (Nac) has expressed concern over people who default on their Anti-Retroviral (ARV) treatment, a situation that may lead to drug resistance.Nac monitoring and evaluation director, Amon Mpofu, said there had been a large number of HIV positive people defaulting on taking ARVs and one of the reasons is the constant movement of people between countries.
Some experts have also said some people default due to stigma, discrimination and denial.
As a result, Mpofu said there is a need to deal with the problem as there is a risk that the gains that the country has made so far might be eroded.
“We have realised that in some provinces people are defaulting taking their drugs by a day or two and this may lead to drug resistance. There is need for patient education on people initiated on ART so that they understand the need to take these drugs otherwise some of our gains will be eroded if this goes unchecked,” said Mpofu.
“One of the reasons for defaulting has been the movement of people outside the country to neighbouring countries for economic reasons. As a result some people default because the drugs would have run out whilst still outside the country hence there is a need to co-ordinate our activities with our neighbours.”
Nac recently revealed that it was eyeing universal Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) for HIV/Aids patients by the end of next year. It is estimated that 1,3 million people are living with HIV/Aids and 50 percent have been initiated on the ART programme in the country.
However, there has been a slow initiation of children, with less than 40 percent of the 163,000 children who should be on ART not having been initiated on the programme.
Online Reporter
Blessing Chizhande