This year marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day as well as the 1st officially registered HIV case in Armenia.
The concept of a World AIDS Day (the 1st day of December) originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programs for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year UN agencies, governments and all sectors of civil society worldwide join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS. This year, the central theme is “Lead - Empower - Deliver”.
According to UNAIDS, efforts made since 1988 to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results, however, the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world.
HIV/AIDS in Armenia
A long time taboo in Armenia, HIV and AIDS are turning into publicly discussed topics probably due to the unfortunate fact that, as Panorama.am puts it, they are becoming more common. Panorama.am reports that in 2008, 68 AIDS and 111 HIV new cases were registered in Armenia.
The first HIV infection in Armenia was reported in 1988. Since then 150 people have perished according to Armenia’s AIDS Prevention Centre; 128 of them were men and 22 were women. According to the same report, 649 people are currently HIV+. UNAIDS, however, puts the total number at 2,400, of which 610 are women. There are no estimates of the number of Armenian AIDS/HIV+s who have left the country in search of easier, cheaper and more confidential access to treatment.
According to Panorama.am, the largest group of HIV+ people is based in Yerevan; 45.8 percent. The second region is Shirak with 10 percent. Many HIV cases, almost 70 percent, are between 20 and 39 years of age.
The two most common transmission causes are unprotected/high risk heterosexual intercourse (49 percent) and sharing infected needles by intravenous drug users (44 percent). Other causes such as unsafe homosexual intercourse and mother-to-child (perinatal) transmission constitute the remaining 7 percent.
According to the data, almost all infected intravenous drug users are men including a good number of migrant workers who might have been infected in Russia or in Ukraine. All Female HIV+s (98.7 percent) have been infected through unprotected sexual contact.
Getting Organized
According to the Report of August 2008 submitted to UNAIDS/Geneva by Mr. Samvel Grigorian, Director of the National AIDS Center, following a decision by the government in 2007, all activities aimed at implementation of the National AIDS Program in Armenia are coordinated by the Country Coordination Commission on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria issues (CCM) that was established in 2002.
In 2006, the CCM approved Armenia’s Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS Prevention Interventions. It also discussed and approved the National Strategic Plan on the Response to HIV Epidemic for 2007-2011.
The Armenicum Fiasco
2008 is also the 10th anniversary of Armenicum, the so-called wonder drug. For years people have been told about the wonders of this Armenian formula with curative powers over the HIV virus.
Eurasianet.org has recently published an article by Sara Khojoyan and Leah Kohlenberg on the subject. Written from a tax-payer perspective, the article is nevertheless very interesting and informative.
According to the authors, while doctors who use the wonder drug say it does seem to relieve some of the symptoms of HIV, after a decade the company has yet to produce any viable clinical trials proving more substantive curing options.
The article says that what most Armenians probably do not know is that their tax money is paying for Armenicum, which is more than triple the cost of the world’s only proven treatment for HIV, antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. They probably also are not aware that in a few months Armenicum may be the only choice available in Armenia for future HIV-infected patients. … instead of paying for all accepted treatments for HIV patients, the government is … requiring that AIDS Center doctors offer the drug, while unproven, as a choice.
Currently, it costs about 6,000 USD per patient per year to be treated with Armenicum, while the standard ARV regimen costs 1,700 USD per patient per year. That means it costs the Armenian taxpayer 300,000 USD to treat just the 50 Armenicum patients approved this year. Compare that to the estimated 160,000 USD it costs to treat 93 patients with ARV funded by the Global Fund.
So far, the international US-funded Global Fund, through the local World Vision office, has been paying for and procuring ARV treatments. But, technically, that money ran out in June, and though the grant has been extended until February and the National Centre for AIDS Prevention is currently applying for another five year grant, there is no guarantee that the Global Fund will continue to fund future ARV treatments.
“If the Global Fund does not finance Armenia again, the national HIV program will be in great jeopardy,” said Mark Kelly, World Vision National Director. “Currently the Global Fund pays for the majority of testing and prevention programs, and all ARV treatments.”
Compounding the problem, … is that ARVs are currently not a registered drug in Armenia and the government has so far been unable to pay the approximate 15,000 USD it will cost to register these internationally accepted drugs as ‘safe to import.’ … “Right now, we are managing to get treatment to everyone who needs it,” …“But as the HIV problem gets worse, it will be more difficult to bring enough drugs into the country.”
When Armenicum was first introduced in Armenia 10 years ago, founders called it a “revolutionary cure for AIDS,” and it immediately captured high-ranking government officials’ interest. Early on, initial payments for Armenicum treatments came from the Defense Ministry, hoping to promote the drug’s research and development. Armenicum’s possibilities caused a buzz of excitement …
…. The problem is that company scientists have never even tried to prove any of these [curative] claims -- at least, not according to the World Health Organization international standards of clinical trials that ARVs have passed. They admit to not even formally monitoring the 250 patients who have been treated with the drug in the past 4 years, though they contend "many" have lived for ten years using the drug.
“It’s still experimental and we are in the middle of the testing phase,” said Ashot Melkonian, head of the Armenicum Clinical Center in Yerevan. “But when we are ready, we will show the world what we have.”
… “I know many clinicians who don’t believe in Armenicum, but they are not allowed to say anything,” said one doctor involved in the HIV treatment field, who refused to be identified.
… World Vision and Global Fund representatives say the most important thing is to make sure HIV patients have an informed choice between all the treatment options.
To read the article in full, please click here.
For further information:
UNGASS data on Armenia
Armenia - Country Progress Report, in PDF (45k)
The concept of a World AIDS Day (the 1st day of December) originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programs for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year UN agencies, governments and all sectors of civil society worldwide join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS. This year, the central theme is “Lead - Empower - Deliver”.
According to UNAIDS, efforts made since 1988 to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results, however, the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world.
HIV/AIDS in Armenia
A long time taboo in Armenia, HIV and AIDS are turning into publicly discussed topics probably due to the unfortunate fact that, as Panorama.am puts it, they are becoming more common. Panorama.am reports that in 2008, 68 AIDS and 111 HIV new cases were registered in Armenia.
The first HIV infection in Armenia was reported in 1988. Since then 150 people have perished according to Armenia’s AIDS Prevention Centre; 128 of them were men and 22 were women. According to the same report, 649 people are currently HIV+. UNAIDS, however, puts the total number at 2,400, of which 610 are women. There are no estimates of the number of Armenian AIDS/HIV+s who have left the country in search of easier, cheaper and more confidential access to treatment.
According to Panorama.am, the largest group of HIV+ people is based in Yerevan; 45.8 percent. The second region is Shirak with 10 percent. Many HIV cases, almost 70 percent, are between 20 and 39 years of age.
The two most common transmission causes are unprotected/high risk heterosexual intercourse (49 percent) and sharing infected needles by intravenous drug users (44 percent). Other causes such as unsafe homosexual intercourse and mother-to-child (perinatal) transmission constitute the remaining 7 percent.
According to the data, almost all infected intravenous drug users are men including a good number of migrant workers who might have been infected in Russia or in Ukraine. All Female HIV+s (98.7 percent) have been infected through unprotected sexual contact.
Getting Organized
According to the Report of August 2008 submitted to UNAIDS/Geneva by Mr. Samvel Grigorian, Director of the National AIDS Center, following a decision by the government in 2007, all activities aimed at implementation of the National AIDS Program in Armenia are coordinated by the Country Coordination Commission on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria issues (CCM) that was established in 2002.
In 2006, the CCM approved Armenia’s Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS Prevention Interventions. It also discussed and approved the National Strategic Plan on the Response to HIV Epidemic for 2007-2011.
The Armenicum Fiasco
2008 is also the 10th anniversary of Armenicum, the so-called wonder drug. For years people have been told about the wonders of this Armenian formula with curative powers over the HIV virus.
Eurasianet.org has recently published an article by Sara Khojoyan and Leah Kohlenberg on the subject. Written from a tax-payer perspective, the article is nevertheless very interesting and informative.
According to the authors, while doctors who use the wonder drug say it does seem to relieve some of the symptoms of HIV, after a decade the company has yet to produce any viable clinical trials proving more substantive curing options.
The article says that what most Armenians probably do not know is that their tax money is paying for Armenicum, which is more than triple the cost of the world’s only proven treatment for HIV, antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. They probably also are not aware that in a few months Armenicum may be the only choice available in Armenia for future HIV-infected patients. … instead of paying for all accepted treatments for HIV patients, the government is … requiring that AIDS Center doctors offer the drug, while unproven, as a choice.
Currently, it costs about 6,000 USD per patient per year to be treated with Armenicum, while the standard ARV regimen costs 1,700 USD per patient per year. That means it costs the Armenian taxpayer 300,000 USD to treat just the 50 Armenicum patients approved this year. Compare that to the estimated 160,000 USD it costs to treat 93 patients with ARV funded by the Global Fund.
So far, the international US-funded Global Fund, through the local World Vision office, has been paying for and procuring ARV treatments. But, technically, that money ran out in June, and though the grant has been extended until February and the National Centre for AIDS Prevention is currently applying for another five year grant, there is no guarantee that the Global Fund will continue to fund future ARV treatments.
“If the Global Fund does not finance Armenia again, the national HIV program will be in great jeopardy,” said Mark Kelly, World Vision National Director. “Currently the Global Fund pays for the majority of testing and prevention programs, and all ARV treatments.”
Compounding the problem, … is that ARVs are currently not a registered drug in Armenia and the government has so far been unable to pay the approximate 15,000 USD it will cost to register these internationally accepted drugs as ‘safe to import.’ … “Right now, we are managing to get treatment to everyone who needs it,” …“But as the HIV problem gets worse, it will be more difficult to bring enough drugs into the country.”
When Armenicum was first introduced in Armenia 10 years ago, founders called it a “revolutionary cure for AIDS,” and it immediately captured high-ranking government officials’ interest. Early on, initial payments for Armenicum treatments came from the Defense Ministry, hoping to promote the drug’s research and development. Armenicum’s possibilities caused a buzz of excitement …
…. The problem is that company scientists have never even tried to prove any of these [curative] claims -- at least, not according to the World Health Organization international standards of clinical trials that ARVs have passed. They admit to not even formally monitoring the 250 patients who have been treated with the drug in the past 4 years, though they contend "many" have lived for ten years using the drug.
“It’s still experimental and we are in the middle of the testing phase,” said Ashot Melkonian, head of the Armenicum Clinical Center in Yerevan. “But when we are ready, we will show the world what we have.”
… “I know many clinicians who don’t believe in Armenicum, but they are not allowed to say anything,” said one doctor involved in the HIV treatment field, who refused to be identified.
… World Vision and Global Fund representatives say the most important thing is to make sure HIV patients have an informed choice between all the treatment options.
To read the article in full, please click here.
For further information:
UNGASS data on Armenia
Armenia - Country Progress Report, in PDF (45k)
A World AIDS Day is organized in Yerevan by PINK Armenia, Women's Resource Center, Real World Real People, Red Cross Armenia, and several other NGOs.
The rather diverse and extensive program includes a march, a rock concert, presentations, and a radio broadcast. For the program in detail, please click here.
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The rather diverse and extensive program includes a march, a rock concert, presentations, and a radio broadcast. For the program in detail, please click here.
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