Month: November 2011

Spain, 2011-November The failure of the liver, a vital organ, is one of the main causes of illness and death among persons with HIV, due mainly to a significant proportion of them also have the virus of hepatitis C (HCV). Research and development of new drugs against hepatitis C is found in full effervescence. They offer more chances of cure for patients infected with the malware variant worse responds to currently available therapy. However, not all persons can benefit from access early to these drugs.

Activists for HIV and viral hepatitis have been working vigorously so that those who are most in need can access them as quickly as possible. According to Xavier Franquet, President of the Spanish Forum for activists in the treatment of HIV (FEAT), people with HIV, with liver cirrhosis or which have received a transplant still may not take these medications, since these patient populations have not been included in the trials on which the authorization of these drugs is based. “ We are concerned that people in the hope that specific studies should be carried out and that authorize the use of new therapies in these groups difficult to treat dying. We believe that people at risk of liver failure and death should have the right to try a new treatment assuming, that Yes, the risks which its use can generate ”, points out the Catalan activist.

In addition, the high cost of these new antiviral may pose an impediment to limit its use in clinical practice. In this sense, Juanse Hernández, Chairman of the Working Group (TWG-HIV) HIV treatment, considers that “ little will serve to improve the therapeutic options against hepatitis C, if then the people who need them cannot access them, especially taking into account the current context of healthcare cuts affecting Spain ”.

Alongside the clinical challenge posed by the dual infection with HIV and hepatitis C co-infection transcends the boundaries of the medical and social scope requires prioritizing this item on the agenda of the HIV/AIDS NGOs. Many of the persons concerned are part of groups in situations of social exclusion and are very vulnerable to personal impairment, which requires specific care programs to respond comprehensively to the bio-psycho-social needs of this population.

“ We have been working every day for urgent response to these infections and its associated problems for years and now we find that the current policy of cuts in health, public health and social resources may involve a setback in the achievements and progress made during these three decades in response to the HIV ”, says Montse Pineda, ILC President 1st of December.

Franquet, Hernández and Pineda inaugurated the Conference on the bio-psycho-social approach of co-infection by HIV and viral hepatitis, which bring together patients, activists, health professionals, social workers and health authorities. The meeting, which was held for the first time in Barcelona, ongoing for seven years.

“ These days have become Spain reference both for his subject by its multidisciplinary character ”, said Diego Garcia Adhara Coordinator and member of the Organizing Committee of this Conference. Garcia serves people infected with HIV and hepatitis B or C at the headquarters of Adhara, in Seville. “ What we are seeing in organizations is a reflection of the natural history of hepatitis C in people with HIV infection. Currently serve persons co-infected of between 45 and 50 years of age, in advanced stages of liver disease, who were injecting drug users in the past and which began in consumption as soon as they reached the age of majority ”.

The Conference addressed the first day, the health education in the field of co-infection by HIV and viral hepatitis through the exhibition of projects and strategies of the citizen movement trying to answer, since prevention, awareness, early detectioninformation, care and accompaniment to this major health problem. Thursday offered an update on advances in research into new treatments against HCV, as well as an update to date on access Spain to these drugs and their use in clinical practice. The 7th Conference on the approach to bio-psycho-social of co-infection by HIV and viral hepatitis have been organized jointly by the Working Group on treatment of HIV (TWG-HIV), the Spanish Forum for activists in the treatment of HIV (FEAT) and the ILC 1st of December.

About gTt-HIV

The Working Group on treatment of HIV (TWG-HIV) is a non-governmental organization with headquarters in Barcelona and declared entity of public utility that aims to inform and educate about advances in HIV/AIDS research and influence public policies to respond to the epidemic. Since 1997, it prepares information from a community perspective on HIV infection and its treatment and carries out actions for the defence and promotion of human rights. TWG a member entity of ILC first of December and the State Coordinator for HIV/AIDS (CESIDA).

About FEAT

The Spanish Forum for activists in the treatment of HIV (FEAT) is a Community Advisory Committee formed by people infected and affected by HIV from their local organizations working in the field of HIV treatments from a community perspective. FEAT interacts with the different agents involved in treatments (pharmaceutical industry, medical society, health authorities and community of concerned) to ensure, among other objectives, that the persons concerned may have early access to innovative therapies in the most secure way.

On the ILC 1st of December

The ILC 1st of December is a non-governmental organisation acting as a platform for NGOs working in the response to HIV/AIDS in the autonomous territory of Catalonia. The ILC was founded in 1998 and since then, this platform has a unitary character, both in their awareness-raising activities and advocacy. The platform currently has 20 member entities.