Management of HIV and AIDS in the African context

The initial response to the African HIV epidemic was to concentrate on the prevention of new infections. There is now an urgent need to address the health care requirements of large numbers of already infected individuals. The spectrum of disease in the African setting is dominated by tuberculosis, bacterial and protozoan infections. In much of Africa, health services are overwhelmed by the care of terminally ill AIDS patients. In the absence of specific HIV therapy, health care resources are being increasingly utilised, but with little survival benefit for the individual. Resources available for treating patients vary considerably between the richer and poorer countries of the continent. Primary prevention of opportunistic infections and maternal child transmission are at present affordable and cost-effective interventions. Whilst antiretroviral therapies may presently be unaffordable in much of Africa, they represent a modality that can have a major effect on HIV survival. The challenge is to improve the health and longevity of HIV-infected individuals with the rational use of the limited health resources available in Africa today.