VOA健康报道2024--Highly Effective HIV Drug to Be Offered at Low Cost to Poor Countries

A yearly two-shot treatment shown to be highly effective in preventing HIV infections is to be offered at low cost to people in 120 poor nations.

Experts have called the treatment the closest the world has ever come to developing a vaccine¹ against HIV. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is an infection that destroys cells of a person's immune system and makes it difficult for them to fight off diseases.

The HIV virus can progress to the related disease AIDS. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that AIDS is a term used to describe "the most advanced stages of HIV infection."

American-based drugmaker Gilead is the developer of the medication, called lenacapavir. The drug is already sold under the name Sunlenca to treat HIV infections in the U.S., Canada, Europe and elsewhere. But Gilead plans to seek approval soon for the medication to be used to prevent HIV infection.

Studies have shown the twice-yearly injection was 100 percent effective in preventing HIV infections in a study of women. And another recent study found the drug worked nearly as well in men.

Winnie Byanyima is the executive director of UNAIDS. She told The Associated Press that the shots had worked so well, she sees them as an "unprecedented²" treatment. Byanyima praised Gilead for developing the drug. But she noted³ that the world's ability to stop HIV/AIDS also depends on its use in at-risk countries.

Gilead has said it plans to offer low-cost, generic⁴ versions of lenacapavir for sale in numerous poor countries with high HIV rates. These are mostly in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.

However, the company does not plan on launching the drug in most of Latin America. HIV infection rates are far lower in Latin America than Gilead's targeted countries. But critics of the drug company's deployment⁵ plans say HIV in these countries is increasing. So several groups have called on Gilead to reconsider its plans to include sales in Latin America.

In a recent report, the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, noted the number of AIDS death last year - an estimated 630,000 - was the lowest since 2004, when AIDS deaths were at their highest. The organization suggested the decreasing numbers mean the world is now at "a historic crossroads," with a chance to end the epidemic⁶.

There are other methods to protect against HIV infection. These include condoms, daily pills and bi-monthly shots. But experts say the Gilead twice-yearly shots would be especially useful for underrepresented groups. These could include people fearful of seeking care, including gay men, sex workers and young women.

Byanyima told the AP, the treatment "would be a miracle for these groups because it means they just have to show up twice a year at a clinic and then they're protected."

A collection of 15 activist⁷ groups - in Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala and Colombia - recently wrote to Gilead to voice their concerns. They are asking for the generic version to be made available in Latin America. They say there is "alarming" inequity there in providing new HIV prevention tools with infection rates rising.

Countries including Norway, France, Spain and the U.S. have been paying more than $40,000 per year for Sunlenca. But experts have said it could be produced for as little as $40 a treatment once generic production expands.

In a statement, Gilead said it has "an ongoing⁸ commitment to help enable access to HIV prevention and treatment options where the need is the greatest." Among the 120 countries approved for the generic version are 18 mostly African nations that make up about 70 percent of the world's HIV cases.

The drugmaker said it is also working to establish "fast, efficient pathways to reach all people who need or want lenacapavir for HIV prevention."

Dr. Chris Beyrer is the director of the Global Health Institute at Duke University in North Carolina. He said it will be greatly useful to have the Gilead shots available in the hardest-hit countries in Africa and Asia. But he added that rising HIV rates among groups including gay men and transgender populations represents "a public health emergency" in Latin America.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

immune system - n. the cells and tissues in the body that fight against infection

advanced - adj. having developed to a late stage

crossroads - n. a time when you have to make an important decision that will affect your future life

condom - n. a thin rubber covering worn by a man to stop a woman from becoming pregnant

gay - adj. being attracted to others of the same sex

miracle - n. something that is very surprising or difficult to believe

clinic - n. a place where people go to see doctors or receive medical treatment

inequity - n. the state of being unfair, or something that is unfair

access - n. the ability to get or use something

option - n. a choice among things

efficient - adj. working well and not wasting time or energy

transgender - adj. used to describe someone whose gender does not match the body they were born with

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。