The Battle Against AIDS Continues With Mixed Results

Over 33 million people around the globe are living with HIV, as of the end of 2007. Despite increased efforts to battle AIDS, newly infected people number far above those receiving antiretroviral drug treatments to fight the disease, according to a report prepared by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary-General said that the global fight against HIV/AIDS is making significant progress but the global epidemic is far from over. The report came just prior to a two-day meeting at U.N. headquarters to review progress in the global fight against AIDS, which will be attended by eight presidents and over 90 prime ministers, foreign ministers, and health ministers.

According to the report, the annual rate of new HIV infections appears to have decreased over the last decade and that since 2006 there has been progress in containing the HIV epidemic in almost all regions of the world. The annual number of AIDS deaths has declined from 3.9 million in 2001 to 2.1 million in 2007, which is the good news.

Now comes the bad news: The report demonstrated that even though resources to fight HIV/AIDS has exceeded the targets set in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, adopted by the General Assembly in 2001, antiretroviral treatment only reached 3 million people in low- and middle-income countries, which is roughly 30 percent of those who need it. And, although an additional 1 million people were started on antiretrovirals in 2007, 2.5 million people were newly infected.

Ban emphasized, "Unless greater and swifter advances are made in reaching those who need essential services, the epidemic's burden on households, communities and societies will continue to mount." 6,000 people die every day from HIV/AIDS, and another 7,000 become infected.

People with weakened immune systems from HIV are up to 50 times more likely to develop tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is the most important medical complication of infection with HIV and is also the number one killer among HIV-positive people in Africa.

Only 31 percent of people with HIV and tuberculosis (TB) co-infection received both antiretroviral and anti-TB drugs in 2007 even with the existence of affordable treatments for tuberculosis. In addition, the progression of the expansion of access to vital services is unable to keep up with the rate of expansion of the epidemic itself. General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim commented, "We cannot separate the fight against HIV/AIDS from the fight against TB." About 700,000 tuberculosis cases develop among HIV-positive people yearly, and this year an estimated 230,000 HIV-infected people will die from tuberculosis.

AIDS remains the leading cause of death in Africa, and the overall rate of infection among women is rising more rapidly than among men. Of the 32.2 million people living with HIV globally, nearly 22.5 million of them are located in Africa's sub-Saharan nations. Half of all HIV infected people are adult women with 61 percent of them being located within these nations. In addition, 90 percent of all HIV positive children in the world are from these locations as well as 76 percent of those who die from AIDS annually.

Other areas where the number of AIDS cases continues to increase are China, Russia, Indonesia and Ukraine. The increases in new infections are due to a number of factors including health workers exposing people by using infected needles and blood, polygamy, prostitution and homosexuality. According to Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, the U.N. agency created in response to the epidemic, the increase in AIDS infections in China has been due to mass movements of temporary laborers, increases in disposable income of male worker, a rise in sexual encounters between men and the escalation of socioeconomic inequality driving poor women into prostitution.

Last year there was a shortage of around 7 billion dollars to the Global Fund for this organized battle against AIDS and more long term funding is needed through official development assistance and other private and public funding channels. If the funding is not ramped up for future assistance, the increase in AIDS will only continue to heighten.