The Minister of Health of Brazil, Alexandre Padilha met with UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Luiz Loures on the country’s new HIV strategy in Brasilia on October 31.
Later this year, Brazil is planning to launch a new approach to the HIV response. While the strategy’s plan to provide life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) to everyone has received widespread attention, Minister Padilha provided more details on two other innovative aspects of the programme.
The new strategy will focus HIV programmes on geographic regions where HIV prevalence is much higher than the rest of the country. It also plans to expand ART coverage by task shifting HIV treatment services from special clinics to primary health care clinics.
All this will only be possible with a massive testing campaign. Innovative Brazilian-made rapid tests will be in the market in the first quarter of the year. This will make a difference to reach populations in remote areas such as the Amazon.
Alexandre Padilha, Minister of Health of Brazil
Brazil is at the forefront of the world’s HIV response and is a key player in ending the AIDS epidemic.
Luiz Loures, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director
