In the last thirteen years as Vice President of the Middle East and Africa region for Merck Sharp & Dohme^*, I have witnessed, sadly, the unfolding HIV epidemic in this part of the world. It is often observed that HIV/AIDS is more than a health crisis, creating enormous losses in human lives and economic productivity, and destroying the social fabric of societies. The latest statistics indicate the devastating number of more than 31 million people living with HIV across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa^**.

We at MSD feel that we cannot be passive bystanders in the face of such a crisis. In the spirit of our mission to preserve and improve human life, we are contributing with our research & development for new therapies and an HIV vaccine. Through our own efforts and through public/private partnerships with a range of stakeholders, we are extending access to life-saving treatment and helping prevent new infections.

Overall, our goal remains to discover and develop new medicines and vaccines. Thanks in part to the fruits of our research, AIDS has become a chronic controllable disease in the western world through the introduction of triple combination therapy with the MSD drugs, CRIXIVAN and STOCRIN. Merck also discovered STOCRIN (available as SUSTIVA in some countries), and this drug  has become  the cornerstone of first-line treatment regimens in most international guidelines. Researchers at Merck are currently working on an experimental HIV vaccine, now in the early stage of human clinical trials.

Stemming the tide of the HIV epidemic is a leadership challenge requiring partnership between the public and private sectors. In the last decade MSD has initiated many collaborative efforts to help strengthen the response to HIV/AIDS across sectors and across cultures.

To mention a few:
In 1997 Merck initiated a collaborative effort with the Romanian Government concentrating on providing access to treatment for thousands of children and adults living with HIV/AIDS in Romania, home to nearly 60 percent of Europe's pediatric AIDS cases. Today, the percentage of people treated in Romania is comparable to any other country in Western Europe or the USA, and thousands of children and adolescents have new hope.

In 2000, Merck joined the Accelerating Access Initiative with UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNFPA, the World Bank and other research-based pharmaceutical companies (Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, and GlaxoSmithKline, later joined by Abbott Laboratories and Gilead Sciences). The common purpose was to find ways to broaden access while ensuring rational, affordable, safe and effective use of drugs for HIV/AIDS-related illnesses. In early 2001, MSD decided individually to take the additional step of supplying our HIV medications at not-for-profit price levels in the poorest countries and those hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

In 2000 Merck also started the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP), an innovative public-private partnership with the Government of Botswana and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  This partnership concentrates on developing and implementing prevention, care treatment and support programs in Botswana, a country with the highest recorded HIV prevalence in the world.

Today, we continue to share the lessons we have learned and to  facilitate the initiation of many partnerships in the fight against HIV/AIDS throughout the world.

HIV@MSD, our monthly electronic newsletter, is intended to inform all those concerned by the spread of the HIV infection worldwide about our progress and initiatives, echoing the voices of people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. We hope you will find it informative and we welcome your feedback; please send comments and suggestions to Sophie d'Aurelle de Paladines.

Michel Iguer - April 2005

^* Merck & Co., Inc. , Whitehouse Station, NJ USA, operates in most countries outside of the United States as Merck Sharp & Dohme (or MSD).  

^** UNAIDS - epidemic update  December 2004