Free HIV/AIDS Treatment in Cameroon

Some, if not all of us, know of the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS in our society today. The disease has led to the demise of a healthy society of men and women.

Some of us have lost loved ones and the memories of the disastrous effect of the pandemic are still fresh in our minds. The most harmful aspect of the disease is the reckless manner in which it destroys the human immune system, thereby making it impossible for the human body to fight against any disease.
Over the years, there has been a strong fight against this illness in America, Africa, Europe and Asia. This fight is yielding some fruits like drugs that can reinstate the immunity of persons infected by the pandemic. No cure has yet been found.

The fight against HIV/AIDS has always been a concern to the government of Cameroon. In the country today the cost of antiretroviral drugs has dropped from 600 FCFA (US$1.24) in 2001 to zero francs from May 1, 2007.

"We are coming from far" says Urbain Olanguena Awono, Cameroon's minister of public health. No doubt things have not been easy for government this far.

Between the years 2000 and 2005, the government in its first strategic plan adopted the initiative known as "Access to Treatment," a 2001 strategy which essentially aimed at reducing the price of HIV/AIDS treatment through commitment from big scientific laboratories.

Consequently treatment cost was reduced to about 370 FCFA. Thanks to fruitful discussion between the government of Cameroon and pharmaceutical firms prices of the drugs were reduced in 2001 to somewhere between 70 FCA to 100 FCFA per month, and per patient, for first and second line treatment.

Furthermore the cost later dropped again to something between 22 FCFA to 68 FCFA, as a result of the government's policy of introducing generic drugs and continuous subventions.

Shortly after that the government again brought the price schedule of the drug to a minimum cost ranging between 15 FCA to 18 FCFA for first and second line treatment per month and for a patient.

After the World Bank agreed to subsidize 50 percent of HIV treatment, in addition to the government's intervention in 2003, the minister of public health laid down the subsidized package of clinical laboratory examinations for persons living with HIV/AIDS at 3 FCFA, and free for pregnant women, between 2004 and 2005.

From 2006 to April 31, 2007, the cost of treatment remained between 3 FCFA to 7 FCFA for first and second line treatment respectively.

Finally from May 1 2007, Cameroon started offering free access to antiretroviral treatment for all people living with HIV/AIDS eligible for this type of treatment, and also free drugs for opportunistic infections.

Also free is second line treatment for HIV-AIDS patients, all thanks to free drugs received by the ministry of public health from UNITAID, (the new international drug purchase facility), through a convention signed between the government of Cameroon and the Clinton foundation to get the second-line drugs free of charge.

It should be noted here that the second-line drugs are being used by HIV/AIDS patients when there is some resistance to the first-line treatment.

Besides all this HIV/AIDS screening tests have also been harmonized through a circular signed by the minister of public health since Sept. 1 2006.

On this score HIV screening tests for all pregnant women and children from 0 to 15 years of age is free while for the rest of the population, the cost stands at 500 FCFA in all private or public HIV screening units.

Prior to these strides, the cost of HIV screening in the country ranged between FCFA 1,000 (US$2.07) to 8,000 (US$16.57) depending on the institution where the test was carried out. Some units took far above.

Not only the government but other Cameroonians as well are involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. They include traditional doctors, researchers and, why not, men of God.

Talking about researchers, one name immediately comes to mind, that of Cameroonian born Prof. Victor Anomah Ngu, a renowned researcher and former minister of public health.

In 2003, he came up with Vanhivax, a vaccine therapy believed to cure HIV/AIDS. Since then he has been working on that at his Yaounde based Clinique Espoir and also fighting to make the vaccine gain global impact.

No matter what steps are being taken to fight HIV/AIDS in Cameroon, some people see it as a non event and turn to frustrate it owing to the fact that they use it to enrich themselves.

Prof. Victor Anomah Ngu, thinks his AIDS vaccine therapy, Vanhivax, is rejected by many including his own government because of its simplicity and the fact that the discovery of an AIDS vaccine will remove "food" from the mouths of those who eat fat from the huge money that circulate around the disease.

"Many people don't want me to succeed because AIDS today is a very big business. If I should succeed, their business will fall," Ngu said over CRTV radio program "Cameroon Calling." He however expressed optimism that the impact of the vaccine is coming slowly.

While the search for the cure for HIV/AIDS continues, the need for effective education and sensitization of the public on the harmfulness of the disease can not be over emphasized. People need to be educated about human sexuality, love and the need for faithfulness among couples, as well as the importance of care for those victims who are either infected or affected by the disease.