AFRICA TO MISS OUT ON POSSIBLE HIV VACCINE
24 September 2009
The new HIV vaccine announced today [September 24th] will make little or no difference to Africa if it cannot reach the people who need it, warns UK based organization, Riders for Health.
Riders for Health [www.riders.org] has 20 years of experience working with ministries of health in Africa, battling to put systems of maintenance, logistics and training in place to make sure health care can be delivered successfully even in rural communities. Despite the obvious need for reliable transportation, this is an issue that is routinely ignored by the international development community.
And yet if a vaccine against HIV is to fulfil its potential it must be effective in sub-Saharan Africa, home to over two-thirds of those living with HIV/AIDS and transportation infrastructure in this region are least equipped to deliver a vaccine successfully.
Up to three-in-five people in developing countries live more than 8 km from a health facility, with the majority having no access to transportation of their own. Unless transportation systems are put in place to deliver any potential vaccine, millions face the possibility of missing out.
Barry Coleman, executive director of Riders for Health said: ‘A vaccine against HIV has huge potential value for humanity, but this value will not be realized if it fails to reach those who need it in Africa. Advances in medical science like this are only part of the solution. Governments and agencies must focus on how we get health care from the health centers out to all the people who need it. A vaccine alone will not save people. There is already a vaccine for measles, but millions of children across Africa still die of measles, simply because the vaccine does not reach them. If we repeat the mistakes of the past, this will be another breakthrough that does not reach those who need it most.’
Andrea Coleman, CEO of Riders for Health said: ‘The announcement of this vital advance gives all of us hope for the future. To make sure the potential of this work is fulfilled the commitment and skill shown by this team in Thailand must be matched by the development community as they review how to reach every person no matter how isolated they are. If only a fraction of the money spent by the development community was invested into creating effective transportation in Africa we could have a huge impact not only on AIDS, but on diseases that have been not been seen in the developed world for decades.’
Riders for Health manages vehicles for the delivery of health care in the Gambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Lesotho, Kenya and Tanzania. Where the organization is operating on a country-wide basis, for the first time health care workers are able to reach every village with reliable health care, ensuring health interventions are delivered to even the most rural communities.