Right to Anti-Retroviral Treatment Campaign

The project addresses PLWHA's right to health and right to life. It aims to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 6 (Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases). It also hopes to reduce the disease burden on those affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly children who would otherwise be orphaned early in their lives. In addition, the project aims to play a role in facilitating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 2 (Achieve universal primary education ) so that all children can have an opportunity to remain in school.

Through the campaign the organisers hope that:

• government policy makes access to ARVs a priority
• drugs imported are free and accessible to all PLWHAs
• drugs are distributed equitably to all without discrimination or biases
• there is sufficient information as to how and where to access the ARVs
• enough sensitisation is done to inform citizens of the benefits of ARVS (eg. prolong live of PLWHA, increased productivity etc.) So as to encourage people to go for voluntary testing without fear of stigmatisation or imminent death
• adequate infrastructure is put in place in the shortest possible time, at all levels in the health delivery system, to facilitate access to ART in a safe and reliable manner by all PLWHA

HIV/AIDS, Education, Health, Children, Rights.

The project objectives are to:

• enable PLWHA in Ghana access to free, good quality and effective anti-retroviral treatment (ART) and delivery system by December 2007
• ensure ART programmes are safe and effective through community support

The project organisers believe access to anti-retroviral treatment will prolong the lives of PLWHA, thereby improving productivity that will consequently lead to poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

“ART is currently available in only four sites in the public health system, all located in southern Ghana (Korlebu teaching hospital, Komfo-Anokye teaching hospital, Atua government hospital and St Martin's hospital, Agormanya). A national ART scale up plan exists which seeks to make ART available in eight sites (4 regional hospitals and 4 district hospitals) by January 2005, in all regional hospitals by December 2005, 50% of the district hospitals by 2007 and all district hospitals by December 2009. The pace at which these plans are being executed gives room to doubt their achievement. The ART campaign seeks to constantly remind and put pressure on the relevant bodies involved, for acceleration in the implementation of the ART access programme.”