NZAF says while it applauds the Government for investing in medicine, it must commit to removing the CD4 threshold for accessing HIV treatment. The Government has announced a $124 million budget increase in new medicines, with $39 million of this going to Pharmac, as announced this morning. “We are extremely optimistic now that the CD4 threshold will be lifted. This is one of the recommendations of the PHARMAC’s pharmacology technical advisory committee (PTAC) that has waited for implementation for nearly two years,” says Shaun Robinson, Executive Director, New Zealand AIDS Foundation. Since the recommendation, further evidence has emerged to point to the health benefits of removing the CD4 policy and getting people living with HIV on treatment as soon as possible. “The effect of this change would be improved health and wellbeing for the person with the virus and a reduction in the spread of HIV due to the treatments suppression of viral load. The science is clear on both these points. Due to these effects the policy will pay for itself in a very short space of time,” says Robinson. He says it is encouraging to note that District Health Boards are recognising the cost-savings in the longer term delivered by medications, “However, all of this investment must bring benefits for people affected by HIV.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 6th May 2016 - 10:02am