Thursday, 28 March, 2024
HomeFocusStellenbosch University calls for cease of 'eligibility debate'

Stellenbosch University calls for cease of 'eligibility debate'

[b]Stellenbosch University[/b] researchers have called on the scientific and activist communities to ‘cease debating who is “eligible” or not for HIV treatment” in favour of allowing patients to “make the decision for themselves in consultation with a supportive and well-trained health care worker’. According to a [s]Mail & Guardian[/s] report, they say: ‘The eligibility debate is fundamentally ill-advised … and we should rather focus on the challenges around early access to antiretroviral therapy for all.’ The researchers argue that the reasons for keeping eligibility criteria in place – namely that patients may not adhere to treatment, which could lead to drug resistance or that the over-burdened health system cannot accommodate many more patients – should be ‘rephrased as practical challenges to be tackled head-on’ instead of being used as ‘reasons for hesitation’.

[link url=http://mg.co.za/article/2014-07-28-hiv-treatment-needs-a-shift-in-thinking-researchers]Full Mail & Guardian report[/link]

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