SANAC welcomes fixed dose combination ARVs

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi today launched the FDC ARVs at Phedisong 4 Community Health Clinic in Ga-Rankuwa. The once-a-day, single ARV tablet contains a combination of three vital ARVs - tenofovir, efavirenz and emtricitabine.

It will be given to newly diagnosed HIV positive persons, all HIV positive pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers regardless of their CD 4 count. This will continue even after breast-feeding if their CD 4 count falls below 350.

Simpler dosing

Welcoming the roll-out of the FDC, SANC CEO Dr Fareed Abdullah said the fixed dose would simplify the way patients take ARV treatment.

"This simplification of treatment makes taking Aids treatment convenient. We hope that it will result in patients complying with and adhering to their treatment, and will enable many more patients to take their medication everywhere and anywhere they may be.

"We have come a very long way since the advent of ARVs. At one point, patients used to take up to 16 pills a day," Dr Abdullah said.

National Chairperson of the Men's Sector of SANAC, Reverend Bafana Khumalo, said the single tablet will improve adherence.

"We have to make sure that those who are still taking several pills remain in the system and stay motivated," said Khumalo.

With regards to counselling and testing, Deputy Chairperson of the Men's Sector in Gauteng, Dr Matome Kganakga, said the intervention will strengthen their efforts.

Improvements a breakthrough

Executive committee member of SANAC's Children's Sector, Anthony Ambrose, said the country was starting to see a breakthrough and shift in the significant improvement of health and well-being for all people living with HIV, especially mothers and children.

The People Living with HIV sector highlighted that the FDC would improve and strengthen adherence to treatment.

Executive member of SANAC's sector of People Living with HIV (PLHIV), Vuyiseka Dubula, said the introduction of FDC was a very progressive step towards improving and reducing factors that contribute to poor treatment adherence.

She said there were many reasons people did not adhere to their medication, stressing that adherence was very critical to the success of treatment.

"Amongst the [reasons] are issues of high dosages or too many pills to take (which is also known as pill burden) and side-effects. Too many people, about 70% in South Africa, have HIV and TB at the same time and in most cases they have to take treatment for both illnesses simultaneously.

"This means many of us take far too many pills and that discourages some not to take them. We need more simplified treatment to influence adherence," Dubula said.

Education and supply are key

She further stressed the need for all to do social mobilisation to educate people about this change and also to make sure that supply chain management was not interrupted to avoid stock-outs of medicines.

Chairperson of the PLHIV sector, Mluleki Zazini, urged all people living with HIV, who are affected by the phasing in approach, to be patient and continue taking the three pills a day, considering that their health will be compromised if they default.