Fact Sheets on HIV in the Americas

In October 2004, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued the first of a series of fact sheets with information about care and treatment of people living with HIV in the Americas, reflecting wide differences in prices, coverage and health costs.

The fact sheets include data on ARV (anti-retroviral) coverage and prices, lines of treatment, laboratory diagnostic supplies, human resource capacity, and voluntary counseling and testing, among other things. Belize, Canada, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay were the first countries to release their fact sheets, with more countries to be included in the coming weeks.

The Americas is the first continent to produce such a comprehensive set of data on care and treatment, as the information is difficult to obtain, and often require the coordination of data from different sources. The fact sheets allow PAHO/WHO (World Health Organization) to monitor progress on its part of the "3 by 5" Initiative, which includes getting lifelong ARV treatment to 600,000 people in the Americas. It is hoped that they will also enable governments, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), and the international community to monitor and support the complex tasks involved in providing care to people living with HIV.