Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 58 375 702 at noon on Wednesday July 28 2004.
Botswana, with the highest per-capita rate of HIV infection in world, is struggling to cope with the demand for treatment, despite pouring much of its diamond wealth into the battle against the disease.
‘We are faced with an ever-worsening, perpetual, insatiable demand,†Ernest Darkoh, operations manager for Botswana’s anti-retroviral drugs programme, told a United Nations meeting on HIV/Aids in Gaborone on Monday. Botswana has funded its campaign through vast dollar earnings from some of the highest-quality diamonds in the world, coupled with massive aid from foreign governments and drug firms, as well as private trusts.
Imported infections: Plans to introduce a compulsory HIV test for immigrants applying to live in Britain have been dropped by ministers, amid growing concern that it would fuel illegal immigration and drive the disease underground.
The Cabinet set up a review of the issue of imported infections earlier this year to investigate whether potential immigrants could be screened for the virus as part of the visa process. It came about because of increasing concerns about how much ‘health tourism†is costing the National Health Service, and the growing rates of HIV among people who have acquired the disease abroad.
But there has been mounting controversy about the idea of making would-be migrants have a mandatory Aids test. Some ministers have argued that it is inherently racist as it would mostly target Africans from countries with the highest rates of the disease.
The Home Office had become increasingly worried that a mandatory HIV test would also carry the risk of pushing up rates of illegal immigration, because people who failed to be given a negative result would find another pathway into Britain.
Sources: Reuters, The Observer