In 2007, HIV/AIDS killed 2.1 million people. These global pandemics disproportionately affect the world’s poorest people and Africa is by far the hardest hit, with 90% of the world's cases of HIV/AIDS.
In Africa, AIDS threatens to wipe out an entire generation during its most productive years - businesses are losing their workers, governments are losing their civil servants and families are losing their breadwinners. 12.1 million children in Africa have already lost one or both parents to AIDS. Some estimates indicate that annual GDP growth rates in countries with high incidences of HIV/AIDS can be 2-4% lower than in countries with an absence of the disease.
Action Taken
The good news is that HIV/AIDS is preventable and treatable using proven, cost-effective strategies. Antiretroviral medication to treat people living with HIV/AIDS costs anywhere between $140 -$3400 per patient per year (depending on the combination of drugs needed), down from nearly $10,000 a year less than 10 years ago. This is good news, indeed!
In 2002, only 50,000 HIV-positive people in Africa had access to antiretroviral medicines (only 1% of those in need). At the end of 2007, 2.1 million Africans (30% of those in need) — and 2 million people globally (31% of those in need) — were receiving treatment. This is in thanks to huge initiatives such as the establishment of the Global Fund and PEPFAR as well as the work of smaller and more nimble organizations who work where the "big boys" aren't yet. AFCA is one of these organizations. AFCA supports programs which don't receive Global Fund or PEPFAR funding and help the programs grow so they can apply for such funding. Then, they move on to other forgotten clinics, hospitals and orphanages and start the cycle once more.
Next Steps
Despite recent successes, current efforts are not on the scale necessary. Around the world, 6.7 million people who need antiretroviral treatment are still not receiving it and 6,800 people are newly infected with HIV each day. In 2005, world leaders committed to helping provide universal access to AIDS prevention, care and treatment by 2010, but there is still no plan in place for realizing this ambitious goal.
Much more must be done to fight this deadly virus and one necessary prerequisite for doing so is increased global funding. HIV/AIDS can be defeated, but only if the effective solutions that are currently within reach are scaled up dramatically.
RESOURCES
Global AIDS Alliance - www.globalaidsalliance.org
Global Health Council - www.globalhealth.org/view_top.php3?id=227
Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria - www.globalhealth.org/view_top.php3?id=228
CARE - www.care.org/campaigns/hiv.asp?
DATA - www.data.org/issues/aids.html
Mercy Corps - www.mercycorps.org/topics/hivaids
Youth AIDS - www.youthaids.org
World Health Organization - http://www.who.int/hiv/en/index.html
Partners in Health - http://www.pih.org/issues/hivaids.html
President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) - http://www.pepfar.gov