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Report: West and Central Africa Need More Focus on HIV Treatment

FILE - An HIV-positive mother holds her sick child at the Thyolo District hospital in Malawi, Nov. 26, 2014.
FILE - An HIV-positive mother holds her sick child at the Thyolo District hospital in Malawi, Nov. 26, 2014.

The humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders says worldwide goals to curb HIV infection by 2020 will not be met unless aid providers recognize and meet the need for more work in West and Central Africa, where the infection rate is low compared to sub-Saharan African nations.

Doctors Without Borders released a report Wednesday saying the focus on Africa's so-called "HIV hotspots" has resulted in a too-narrow focus that overlooks needs in West and Central Africa.

The report says while HIV prevalence in that region is relatively low, with 2.3 percent of the population living with the virus, it is still three times the worldwide rate, and pockets of that region have prevalence rates as high as 5 percent.

The report urges United Nations agencies, European donor agencies, national governments and civil society to fast-track a plan to scale up antiretroviral treatment for countries in West and Central Africa where less than one-third of the population in need is currently getting treatment.

In Photos: Millions of Africans Left Out of Global HIV Response

Patrick Luyeye and Selly Bentone (right) examine patient Nadine, 28, at the Centre Hospitalier de Kabinda, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontière or MSF) has observed an excessively high number of patients arriving with serious complications resulting from lack of treatment. (MSF/Mario Travaini)
1/7 Patrick Luyeye and Selly Bentone (right) examine patient Nadine, 28, at the Centre Hospitalier de Kabinda, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontière or MSF) has observed an excessively high number of patients arriving with serious complications resulting from lack of treatment. (MSF/Mario Travaini)
André, 42, photographed in the HIV-AIDS ward of the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda in Kinshasa, DRC, Jan. 24, 2012. (MSF/Mario Travaini)
2/7 André, 42, photographed in the HIV-AIDS ward of the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda in Kinshasa, DRC, Jan. 24, 2012. (MSF/Mario Travaini)
André, 42, photographed in the HIV-AIDS ward of the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda in Kinshasa, Jan. 24, 2012. DRC only has a 15 percent ARV coverage rate, one of the lowest in the world. Of all African countries, only Somalia and Sudan have similar rates. (MSF/Mario Travaini)
3/7 André, 42, photographed in the HIV-AIDS ward of the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda in Kinshasa, Jan. 24, 2012. DRC only has a 15 percent ARV coverage rate, one of the lowest in the world. Of all African countries, only Somalia and Sudan have similar rates. (MSF/Mario Travaini)
Julia, an AIDS patient being treated at Kabinda Hospital Center, Kinshasa. The number of HIV-positive people in DRC is currently estimated at more than one million, 350,000 of whom could benefit from ARV treatment. However, only 44,000 are receiving treatment at this time. (MSF/Mario Travaini).
4/7 Julia, an AIDS patient being treated at Kabinda Hospital Center, Kinshasa. The number of HIV-positive people in DRC is currently estimated at more than one million, 350,000 of whom could benefit from ARV treatment. However, only 44,000 are receiving treatment at this time. (MSF/Mario Travaini).
The arm of Julia, a patient ill with advanced AIDS at the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda, Kinshasa, DRC.
5/7 The arm of Julia, a patient ill with advanced AIDS at the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda, Kinshasa, DRC.
Jean-Pierre Lingombe suffers from AIDS and tuberculosis. He was hospitalized at MSF’s HIV-AIDS hospital in Kinshasa and treated for HIV and AIDS. Jean-Pierre is now followed by the Roi Baudouin Hospital in Kinshasa for his tuberculosis treatment. However, at the time of the visit of the photographer, he had not received his TB drugs because of a drug stockout at the hospital.
6/7 Jean-Pierre Lingombe suffers from AIDS and tuberculosis. He was hospitalized at MSF’s HIV-AIDS hospital in Kinshasa and treated for HIV and AIDS. Jean-Pierre is now followed by the Roi Baudouin Hospital in Kinshasa for his tuberculosis treatment. However, at the time of the visit of the photographer, he had not received his TB drugs because of a drug stockout at the hospital.
Elise, 12, was infected with HIV during her mother's pregnancy.  She received antiretroviral treatment erratically in the early years because of her mother's lack of knowledge on how best to care for an HIV-positive child. As a result she developed a resistance to the first set of antiretroviral drugs. Elise lost her battle with HIV and died a few days after these pictures were taken, Kinshasa.  Her mother Agathe wanted MSF to publish these pictures. "It cannot help Elise, but it may help others in the country," she said. (MSF/Rosalie Colfs)
7/7 Elise, 12, was infected with HIV during her mother's pregnancy.  She received antiretroviral treatment erratically in the early years because of her mother's lack of knowledge on how best to care for an HIV-positive child. As a result she developed a resistance to the first set of antiretroviral drugs. Elise lost her battle with HIV and died a few days after these pictures were taken, Kinshasa.  Her mother Agathe wanted MSF to publish these pictures. "It cannot help Elise, but it may help others in the country," she said. (MSF/Rosalie Colfs)
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Dr. Eric Goemaere of Doctors Without Borders says the needs in West and Central Africa remain "enormous," with three out of four people in need of HIV care not accessing it. He said that number represents five million out of the 15 million worldwide who should be started on antiretroviral treatment by 2020, if HIV treatment goals are to be met.

The report finds that HIV sufferers in West and Central Africa face obstacles to getting treatment. It says HIV needs in that region are underestimated and given little priority, while those needing treatment face barriers such as stigma, drug shortages, health care fees, and poor quality services. Violence and other disease epidemics can also complicate access to antiretroviral treatment.

The group says the "treatment gap" in the region must be closed "now or never." It says if the world is serious about defeating AIDS it is time to broaden its focus to include the West and Central Africa sufferers that it calls "some of the most neglected victims of HIV/AIDS."

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