Cohort Profile: Antiretroviral Therapy in Lower Income Countries (ART-LINC): international collaboration of treatment cohorts

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), a combination of at least three drugs, has substantially improved the prognosis of HIV-infected patients in industrialized countries. 1–3 In resourcepoor settings in Africa, Asia, and South America, where 90% of people with HIV/AIDS live, access to HAART continues to be limited. It is estimated that one million HIV-1 infected individuals presently receive HAART in low-income and middle-income countries, which represents only 15% of the 6.5 million people urgently in need of such treatment in these settings. 4 International and bilateral initiatives, including WHO’s ‘3 by 5’ target (3 million patients treated by 2005), the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), aim to substantially increase access to antiretroviral treatment in these settings during the next few months. Clinical and epidemiological research has been conducted at the level of selected centres regarding treatment response, 5–8