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Published 8 February 2010

Oscar’s drugs stopped working and he was at death’s door. Even though he’d followed his prescription of daily pills to prevent AIDS-related infections, his body still built up resistance to the drugs and the treatment became ineffective. He lost a lot of weight and suffered nerve damage.

When standard antiretrovirals fail there is a backup available in the so-called second-line antiretrovirals, but these are much more expensive – partly because they must be imported. In Cuba the Global Fund assists the national program by financing the provision of second-line antiretrovirals for around 4,300 people with advanced HIV infection. The availability of this treatment for free helps save lives that would otherwise be lost.

Oscar’s partner Ramón is also HIV-positive but his body shows no signs of resistance so far to the locally produced first-line drugs. He works in a lithography shop and volunteers with the National AIDS Prevention Center where he qualified to monitor AIDS treatment. When he gets home he supervises Oscar’s treatment.

Oscar’s health was turned around by the new drugs according Ramón. “I have to say that the last therapy given by the Global Fund is the one that suited him best, that did him good,” he says.