CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1
Background of the Study
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus that is a slowly replicating retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This is a condition in humans with progressive failure of the immune system that allows life threatening opportunistic infections and cancer to thrive (Douek, Koup, McFarland, Sullivan, and Luzuriaga, 2000). HIV/AIDS is now a chronic disease similar to other chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension that require daily medications in order to control the associated pathology and optimize health (Volberding & Deeks, 2010).
The 2013 World health organization (WHO) HIV treatment guidelines greatly expanded the number of people eligible for ART. To meet this challenge, UNAIDS in July 2013 joined WHO, the US President‟s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria and other partners to launch the Treatment 2015 initiative. Treatment 2015 aims to ensure that the world reaches its 2015 HIV treatment target of 15 million as a critical stepping-stone towards universal access to ART. Like all developing countries in Africa, HIV/AIDS is also present in Ghana. The Government of Ghana estimated the number of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS as at 2010 to be 230,000 and the prevalence rate at 1.3% in 2012. The joint United Nations programme on HIV estimated the prevalence rate in adults to be 0.92% at the end of 2012 with an estimated 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS (W.H.O., 2010).
COBBLAH, P (2022). Actors Influencing Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Persons Living with HIV in Accra Metropolis. Afribary. Retrieved from https://tracking.afribary.com/works/actors-influencing-adherence-to-antiretroviral-therapy-among-persons-living-with-hiv-in-accra-metropolis
COBBLAH, PRISCILLA "Actors Influencing Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Persons Living with HIV in Accra Metropolis" Afribary. Afribary, 16 Jun. 2022, https://tracking.afribary.com/works/actors-influencing-adherence-to-antiretroviral-therapy-among-persons-living-with-hiv-in-accra-metropolis. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
COBBLAH, PRISCILLA . "Actors Influencing Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Persons Living with HIV in Accra Metropolis". Afribary, Afribary, 16 Jun. 2022. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. < https://tracking.afribary.com/works/actors-influencing-adherence-to-antiretroviral-therapy-among-persons-living-with-hiv-in-accra-metropolis >.
COBBLAH, PRISCILLA . "Actors Influencing Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Persons Living with HIV in Accra Metropolis" Afribary (2022). Accessed November 21, 2024. https://tracking.afribary.com/works/actors-influencing-adherence-to-antiretroviral-therapy-among-persons-living-with-hiv-in-accra-metropolis