AIDS Treatment Still Out of Reach For the Poorest of the Poor

December 1 is World AIDS Day.

In 2002, average life expectancy in 16 African nations was at least ten years lower than it would have been without the advent of AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, home to 70 percent of the world’s HIV-positive people, AIDS is now the leading cause of death.

Although AIDS-related mortality has fallen dramatically in high-income countries since antiretroviral treatment became widespread in 1996, only four percent of those who need treatment in low- and middle- income countries receive it. While the price of antiretrovirals has fallen dramatically, from $10,000-$12,000 a year per person in early 2000 to $350 per person by December 2001, the expense still places treatment out of the hands of the world’s poor.

Source:

HIV/AIDS Pandemic Spreads Further, Vital Signs 2003, pp. 88-89.

Worldwatch Links:

Vital Signs Fact of the Week Archive
Vital Signs 2003 press release
Take action: Vital Signs 2003, What You Can Do
More research from Worldwatch

Additional Resources:

Physicians for Human Rights:
http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/aids/index.html

World AIDS Day:
http://www.unaids.org/en/events/world+aids+day+2003.asp