Clinton Foundation Press Office: 212.348.0360
For Immediate Release April 27, 2009
Two Million People Now Accessing Medicines Under the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative’s Pricing Agreements
The increase reflects an annual calculation of the number of patients benefiting from agreements; the 2008 estimate is based on agreements, in partnership with UNITAID, completed since 2007.
The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative also is helping to support more than 195,000 children living with HIV with medicines funded by UNITAID, an increase of more than 61,000 since last year.
New York, NY - The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, today announced updates that illustrate the progress of its work. As of the beginning of 2009, 2.0 million people are benefiting from medicines purchased under the agreements of CHAI. More than 70 countries have access to prices that CHAI has negotiated for drugs and diagnostics - representing more than 90 percent of people living with HIV globally.
In addition, CHAI’s Pediatric Program, in partnership with UNITAID, an international organization which provides additional funding to support efforts against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, supports the treatment of more than 195,000 children, more than two-thirds the total number of children on treatment in the world.
“It is an exciting day to witness the progress my Foundation has made to fight HIV/AIDS in the developing world," President Clinton said. "Driving down prices and driving uptake on the ground, CHAI helps make it possible for more adults and children to access life-saving medicines and tests they need."
Under the leadership of President Clinton and at the invitation of national governments, CHAI works to expand access to high-quality HIV/AIDS care and treatment by improving the efficiency of commodity marketplaces and by supporting governments to develop robust national HIV/AIDS programs. Since its inception in 2002, CHAI has mobilized technical and business expertise to help governments make better use of available resources to save more lives. More than 600 people work and volunteer for CHAI in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
BACKGROUND
The 2.0 million patients that have gained access to treatment have done so through the collective efforts of governments, donors, manufacturers, and other partners, including CHAI. Each benefiting patient lives in a country which participates in CHAI’s Procurement Consortium and is taking antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) that were purchased below ceiling prices that CHAI has negotiated with partner manufacturers.
CHAI updates the number of people accessing these prices on a yearly basis. In calculating this number, CHAI uses a conservative methodology. CHAI calculates the number of patients benefitting in two ways. First, where complete order data is provided by the country’s national government, CHAI determines which ARVs were purchased from partner suppliers at or below negotiated ceiling prices. CHAI then uses the order quantities for each ARV to calculate the implied number of patients taking each individual drug. CHAI ensures that only unique patients are counted by using the country’s national treatment guidelines to exclude certain single-dose ARVs that are taken in combination with other ARVs by the same patients. Further, to avoid double counting, CHAI only uses order data from the past 12 months.
The second approach to estimating the number of beneficiaries uses government data on the total number of patients on treatment by ARV regimen. CHAI calculates the number of patients who are on regimens which include at least one ARV that is being purchased from partner suppliers and below negotiated ceiling prices. Where full order data is not provided, CHAI gathers information on the latest ARV suppliers and purchase prices for each drug and assumes these same prices and suppliers apply to all orders placed that year.
After both calculations are made, a final beneficiary figure is determined for each country based on which method’s data are more complete and reliable. In cases for which both data sets are deemed equally reliable, the lesser of the two figures is chosen to be more conservative.
CHAI’s Pediatrics Program has worked with national governments to nearly triple the number of children on ARV treatment globally since 2005 — a dramatic improvement over the historically low rates of pediatric coverage.
In 2004, two million children were infected with HIV/AIDS, yet the medicines used to treat children cost four times more than those for adults and were harder to administer, making treatment difficult and expensive. As a result, only one in 40 children in need of treatment was receiving it. CHAI established a Global Pediatric Program in 2005 to improve access for children.
In 2006, CHAI partnered with UNITAID to increase funding available for pediatric treatment to catalyze uptake and reduce prices of needed medicines and tests. This resulted in a 90 percent price reduction for pediatric fixed-dose combinations, the accelerated distribution of an easily dispensable, child-friendly medicine, and the rapid uptake of an improved test to diagnose HIV-positive infants. CHAI also works with the governments of 34 countries to establish and strengthen the systems required to deliver high-quality health care to children by increasing the number of sites able to provide HIV/AIDS care for children; training and mentoring health care workers; and supporting national planning and resource mobilization for pediatric HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment.
About the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative
Since 2002, the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, has assisted countries in implementing large-scale, integrated care, treatment and prevention programs. CHAI works side-by-side with more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean to build systems that will deliver HIV/AIDS treatment and healthcare by providing governments with technical assistance, leveraging human and financial resources, and facilitating the sharing of best practices across nationwide projects. CHAI also brokers agreements to lower prices of essential medicines and diagnostics, which are now accessible to more than 70 countries, representing more than 90 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world. Learn more at www.clintonfoundation.org.
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