3,000 PLWA in Nigeria, 5 others, benefit from HAF HIV treatment initiative

By  Sola Ogundipe

Over 3,000 adults in Nigeria and five other African countries in sub-Saharan Africa who are receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) are currently being monitored under a new project called PharmAccess Africa Studies to Evaluate Resistance (PASER).

Supported by the Heineken Africa Foundation (HAF) and managed by the PharmAccess Foundation, the project, reputed to be the largest coordinated effort in Sub-Saharan Africa to monitor HIV drug resistance, is a move to compliment ongoing efforts to combat the menace of HIV & AIDS in the African continent.

With funding from the HAF, Nigeria was recently included in the study, supporting the implementation of a monitoring programme to assess the emergence of HIV Drug Resistance in Nigerian adults and children who are receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART).

Under the project, the six benefiting countries hosting 15 clinics, laboratories and research institutions are joined in a unique collaborative network to collect data on emerging HIV drug resistance.

The Nigerian PASER initiative was announced recently at the HIV& AIDS symposium hosted by Heineken in Amsterdam.

Two other HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment projects supported by HAF, are the Bonnes Routes’, Democratic Republic of Congo and Project King’s Hope, South Africa

According to Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board/CEO Heineken N.V.: “These three new HIV & AIDS projects will play a small but meaningful role in helping to continue the fight against the disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. They will help address the ongoing challenge of HIV & AIDS by increasing knowledge, extending preventive support and providing treatment to those who are suffering.”

HIV & AIDS is considered a major public health problem with Sub-Saharan Africa severely affected. With an estimated four million persons living with HIV, Nigeria is ranked second after South Africa. on the continent