Browsing by Author "Ford, Nathan"

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    Preferred antiretroviral drugs for the next decade of scale up
    (2012) Andrieux-Meyer, Isabelle; Calmy, Alexandra; Cahn, Pedro; Clayden, Polly; Raguin, Gilles; Katlama, Christine; Vitoria, Marco; Levin, Ann; Lynch, Steven; Goemaere, Eric; Ford, Nathan
    Global commitments aim to provide antiretroviral therapy (ART) to 15 million people living with HIV by 2015, and recent studies have demonstrated the potential for widespread ART to prevent HIV transmission. Increasingly, countries are adapting their national guidelines to start ART earlier, for both clinical and preventive benefits. To maximize the benefits of ART in resourcelimited settings, six key principles need to guide ART choice: simplicity, tolerability and safety, durability, universal applicability, affordability and heat stability. Currently available drugs, combined with those in late-stage clinical development, hold great promise to simplify treatment in the short term. Over the longer term, newer technologies, such as long-acting formulations and nanotechnology, could radically alter the treatment paradigm. This commentary reviews recommendations made in an expert consultation on treatment scale up in resource-limited settings.
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    Should active recruitment of health workers from Sub-Saharan Africa be viewed as a crime?
    (2008) Mills, Edward J.; Schabas, William A.; Volmink, Jimmy; Walker, Roderick; Ford, Nathan; Katabira, Elly; Anema, Aranka; Joffres, Michel; Cahn, Pedro; Montaner, Julio
    Shortages of health-care staff are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa (table). 1 Overall, there is one physician for every 8000 people in the region. In the worst affected countries, such as Malawi, the physician-to-population ratio is just 0·02 for every 1000 (one per 50 000). There are also huge disparities between rural and urban areas: rural parts of South Africa have 14 times fewer doctors than the national average. 2 These numbers are very different to those in developed countries: the UK, for example, has over 100 times more physicians per population than Malawi. 3 Furthermore, almost one in ten doctors working in the UK are from Africa. The insufficiency of health staff to provide even basic services is one of the most pressing impediments to health-care delivery in resource-poor settings. The consequences are clearly shown by the inverse relation that exists between health-care worker density and mortality.
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    Universal access in the fight against HIV/AIDS
    (2010) Girard, Françoise; Ford, Nathan; Montaner, Julio; Cahn, Pedro; Katabira, Elly
    In 2006, all United Nations member states committed themselves to the goal of universal access to comprehensive programs for HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010 (1). This commitment has inspired national and international responses to achieve impressive results. Unfortunately, it is now clear that the global community has failed to deliver on the universal access pledge. Worse, the global AIDS response is currently under attack. What have we learned, and where should we go from here?