Threat of Global AIDS Pandemic Over? Says Who?

Abstract

a sharply worded rejoinder to The Independent’s coverage, the global AIDS pandemic is by no means over. How can it be when we consider that at the end of 2007, for example, an estimated 33.2 million people were living with HIV disease (see Figure 1), almost 2.5 million people became newly infected that year, and 2.1 million died of AIDS-related complications? And, indeed, AIDS remains the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, where the primary transmission route is heterosexual in nature. To be sure, great progress has been made in the areas of HIV prevention, care, and treatment. For example, UNAIDS estimates that there has been a downward trend in AIDS-related deaths for the past 6 years largely as a result of expanded access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). And, with respect to care and treatment, at the close of 2007, nearly 3 million people were receiving ART in lowand middle-income countries. This achievement comes 2 years later than originally planned for through the WHO’s 3 by 5 Threat of world AIDS pandemic among heterosexuals is over, report admits.