Brasília, July 23, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Ministry of Health will increase the number of municipalities that receive funds for programs to combat Aids and will guarantee treatment for 100% of expectant mothers infected by HIV. These are some of the goals established by the National STD/Aids Program to reduce the number of cases of the disease by 2006. According to the coordinator of the Brazilian Program to Combat Aids, Alexandre Grangeiro, these actions have already gotten underway.
Currently, 150 municipalities receive funds to develop activities to combat the virus. With the new measure, this number will expand to 411. According to Grangeiro, the Ministry of Health will transfer around R$ 100 million per year to these localities. "They are municipalities throughout the country, and, together, they contain 90% of the known cases of Aids in Brazil," the coordinator explained, adding that the incidence of HIV and mortality continue to grow in the South, North, and Northeast. "The Southeast and Center-West have already managed to control the epidemic, and there is a declining trend" in these regions.
The National STD/Aids Coordination estimates that, annually in Brazil, of the total of women who become pregnant, 17 thousand are HIV-carriers, and only 40% of them have access to diagnosis and treatment.
Grangeiro recalls that prevention is very important, because the mother who is not treated has up to a 30% chance to pass the virus on to her baby. With treatment, the chances are only 5%. To guarantee treatment for expectant mothers, the Ministry of Health will invest R$ 17 million on rapid diagnostic tests for HIV and syphilis in all Brazilian maternity wards.
"The Ministry of Health is intensifying its activities to prevent the transmission of the virus from mother to child. One of the programs is to provide powdered milk to these mothers, since they should not breast-feed their infants," explained the coordinator. There will also be incentives to increase the use of condoms in Brazil from 550 million to 1.2 billion. According to Grangeiro, three programs will be developed: distribution of condoms in schools to young people and adolescents with a minimum age of 14; availability, by the end of year, of inexpensive condoms - R$ 0.20 for the low income population; and increase in the number of condoms distributed by public health agencies and non-governmental organizations.
"We are starting a pilot project in the schools of Curitiba, São Paulo, São José do Rio Preto (SP), and Rio Branco and Xapuri (AC)," Grangeiro informed, recalling that 85% of Aids cases are transmitted through sexual relations. The Ministry also plans to build a condom factory in Acre to expand public distribution by as much as 33%. "The factory will make it possible to produce 100 million condoms and will begin functioning in 2005," he explained.
The mortality rate is still very high; approximately 50% of the individuals infected by HIV die. The goal of the Ministry is to lower this index by 30%. "We shall intensify our activities specifically in the North and South, which have still been unable to reduce the mortality rate as much as in other regions."
There are around 600 thousand people infected by HIV throughout Brazil. Of this total, around 350 thousand are not aware they carry the virus. "Our goal is to perform tests on 4.5 million people per year," Grangeiro affirmed. He said that, currently, only 1,800 people are tested each year. When the diagnosis is made early, the chances of survival of the carrier is greater, as well as the quality of life. "Nowadays, the therapies and medications that are available make it possible for Aids to be treated as a chronic disease," Grangeiro declared.
Women still constitute a priority in programs to control the epidemic, because their rate of infection is 9 times greater than among men. To change this picture, the Ministry will guarantee access to female condoms, especially to women who are more vulnerable (drug users, prostitutes, prison inmates, and lesbians). Among these groups, the chances of infection are 8 to 12 times greater than in the general population. "Women are still viewed in a very prejudiced light, when they propose to their partners the use of condoms. This has to change," Grangeiro concluded. (DAS)
