Due to the country's collapse in medical services and inability to provide life-saving drugs, a few weeks before the New Year kicks in, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently began their distribution process of the much-needed anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to certain identified patients living with HIV in Libya. Authorities from WHO have already revealed that the HIV prevalence in Libya has been perceived as significantly arising since the start of hostilities in 2011. It was found out that the country's Ministry of Health has allegedly reached out to the WHO for support in drug procurement and distribution since severe levels of shortages in terms of ARV drugs are already threatening the lives of those with HIV.
The Lifesaving Treatment For HIV Launched By UN
According to reports revealed by UN News Centre, WHO has already provided a three-month span of drugs to some 450 patients. The agency is reportedly working hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Health in order to develop and implement surveillance and health system assessment mechanisms, particularly those regarding blood safety. Authorities from UN said that the initiative is basically intended to reinstate the HIV-related infrastructure that was halted at the start of the war in 2011.
On the other hand, as per Relief Web, it was found that cultural barriers and stigmatization regarding the disease have long been considered as one of the major hindrances to effectively implement certain HIV prevention programs. Consequently, WHO claims that their primary target is therefore focused in planning, surveillance, and delivery of health care services to HIV patients through advocating for universal access to HIV treatment and care. However, despite the good intentions of this vision, authorities from WHO has highly emphasized that for the continuous meeting of its goal, they are still on the move on looking for an amount of $1.2 million from donors, which would allegedly allow the agency to guarantee a supply of ARV drugs the whole year round.
