The world is at a crucial moment in the course of the HIV/Aids epidemic, with a chance to stem the progress of the disease that has become the leading cause of adult deaths worldwide, according to a report from the World Health Organisation.
The report, Changing History, says a major transfer of resources from the rich world to the poor would be needed to conquer the epidemic. The WHO has launched what it calls the ”three by five” initiative, with the aim of getting three million people in some of the worst-hit and poorest countries on treatment to stabilise the infection and stop it developing into Aids, which invariably leads to death.
But most observers believe there is little hope of scaling up treatment programmes in Africa and Asia to that level without much greater investment. The report, launched on Tuesday on the eve of the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva, aims to concentrate minds and stir donors into greater generosity.
HIV/Aids has killed 20-million people so far. Between 34 and 46-million are infected with the virus and will die prematurely without treatment.
The problem is not confined to Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The report points out that the fastest growing epidemic is in Europe. Between 1995 and 2003 the number of new infections in western Europe doubled to more than 365 000. In central and eastern Europe it rose from 27 000 to 370 000.
The lack of access to drugs is also a problem in Europe, where even poorer countries are rarely eligible for the reduced drug prices. Yet one in five countries in the region has a gross national product of less than $1 000 a head. In 22 countries about 100 000 people need treatment but only 6 500 are getting it. – Guardian Unlimited Â