Materia Medica Malaysiana

Free antiretroviral treatment for AIDS patients: "PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry will provide free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for AIDS patients once the Government starts bringing in cheaper generic drugs from India next year.
Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said his ministry was in the last stages of drawing an agreement with Indian drug producer, Cipla, to buy the generic ARV medicine.
“The Cabinet has decided to buy the drugs where it is cheapest. Once we have access to those drugs, we want to give it free. Beginning from January, we should start buying. We would like to extend it to all those who cannot afford it,” said Chua during a media briefing yesterday on Malaysia's HIV/ AIDS situation.
ARV treatment or HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) was introduced in 1996, and has been shown to suppress the replication of the virus.
The lower the viral load of the individual, the lesser the risk of transmitting HIV to others. Although not a cure, treatment has enabled HIV-positive people to live longer and lead healthy lives.
Patients on the treatment usually take a combination of three drugs.
At present, the Government is providing one free ARV drug to AIDS patients treated in government hospitals, subject to certain conditions such as adherence to their drug regime.
Chua said that the details on the rollout of the free ARV treatment had not been worked out yet, but it was based on the principle of accessibility.
The first step, he said, would be to make cheaper anti-HIV drugs available by bringing in generic drugs under governmental rights.
It costs the Government about RM800 a month to treat an AIDS patient, but using the Indian generic drugs will reduce the cost to RM188 a month for a patient. It now costs the Government RM3mil to treat 1,500 HIV/AIDS patients a year.

Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) executive director Indra Nadchatram said: “Treatment offers hope. It allows our HIV-positive people to live healthy, productive lives. It will also encourage people to come forward to be tested, which will offer opportunities for counselling as well as preventive education.

“The MAF looks forward to the Government's new initiative to expand its current one-drug policy to a coverage of two-drugs and eventually, all three drugs that are required for the HIV treatment cocktail,” she said.

The MAF has been complementing the Government's treatment efforts with their “People Living with HIV/ AIDS Drug Assistance Scheme”, which helps patients buy ARV drugs.

Only two developing countries are currently offering free ARV treatment to its people –Brazil and Bostwana. South Africa has announced that it intends to give free ARV treatment, but the rollout has yet to be implemented. "