RESULTS TO MID-2015 RELEASED

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 7

Number of people on ARVs reaches 8.6 million

ABSTRACT Programs supported by The Global Fund added another 500,000 people on antiretroviral treatment in the first half of 2015, bringing cumulative results to 8.6 million. During that same period, the number of smear-positive TB cases detected and treated increased by 850,000 (cumulative total: 15 million); and the number of mosquito nets distributed rose by 50 million (cumulative total: 600 million).

In the first half of 2015, through programs supported by The Global Fund, another 500,000 people were put on antiretroviral treatment for HIV, bringing the total to date to 8.6 million, a 7% increase over end-2014 results.

In that same period, the number of smear-positive TB cases detected and treated increased by 850,000, bring the cumulative total to 15 million, an 14% increase over end- 2014 results as reported by The Global Fund in September 2015. (See the editor’s note at the end of this article.)

Also in the first half of 2015, just over 50 million mosquito nets were distributed, bringing the total to date to 600 million.

These results were announced recently by The Global Fund in a factsheet.

Cumulatively, to 30 June 2015, programs supported by the Fund also:

• provided counseling and testing to 470 million people;
• distributed 5.2 billion condoms;
• treated 23 million people for STIs;
• provided services to 3.3 million HIV-positive women to prevent transmission of HIV to unborn children;
• provided basic care and support services to 7.8 million orphans and vulnerable children;
• treated 230 million people for MDR-TB;
• treated 560 million cases of malaria; and
• conducted indoor residual spraying in 61 million structures.

The fact sheet included an explanation of how the results were calculated and verified.

Editor’s note: In September 2015, the Fund reported that the cumulative total of smear-positive TB cases detected and treated to end-2014 was 13.2 billion. A Fund spokesperson told GFO that this figure was under-reported by 750,000. Thus, the correct number of cases to end-2014 was actually 13.95 billion. By our calculations, the addition of 850,000 cases in the first half of 2015 brings the cumulative total to 14.8 billion, which the Fund appears to have rounded up to 15 million. Using the rounded-up figure, the additional cases in the first half of 2015 represents an increase of 7.5% compared to the revised number of cases to end-2014.