BEIJING, Nov 10 (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton Monday condemned the high cost of AIDS drugs in the developing world and warned of dire consequences if the epidemic was not brought under control.
In a speech to students at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Clinton also warned China that it could not afford to ignore the threat posed by AIDS.
"This medicine issue is an international scandal," said Clinton, whose AIDS foundation last month struck a deal with four generic-drug companies to slash the price of AIDS drugs in parts of the developing world.
"There's 40 million people with HIV, over six million people at death's door, but only 300,000 get anti-retrovireal drugs.
"Money shouldn't determine who lives and dies from AIDS."
Clinton said the global spread of the disease could prove disastrous if not brought under control.
"In the vaccum created by economic and health collapse (caused by AIDS), hatred, terror and violence will flourish," he said.
The former US leader's foundation reached agreement with three Indian pharmaceutical firms and a South African company to cut the price of a commonly used triple-drug regimen by almost a third, to about 38 cents a day per patient.
The same regime using patented drugs currently costs around 1.54 dollars, and 55 cents for generic drugs.
Although the deal only covers countries where the Clinton Foundation HIV-AIDS Initiative is working -- the Caribbean and Africa -- he said it contained a clause that would allow it to be extended elsewhere, including China.
"I hope that the drugs at low prices will be available in each country which wants to buy them, and that includes China," he told students at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
"If we continue to ignore the implications of AIDS it will be terrible not only for China but for all the partners and friends of China all around the world."
China admits it has 840,000 HIV/AIDS patients and that since 1985 around 150,000 have died. Independent health organizations, including Chinese non-government AIDS awareness groups, estimate there are many more.
"This disease is 100 percent preventable," said Clinton.
"Four things we all have to do: we need good national programs, adequate funding, strong leadership, and a global effort based on our common humanity.
"I know that many organisations are working in China ... But we need to do more and we need to do it in a hurry."
After years of denying it had an AIDS problem, China recently acknowledged many people had been infected through unsanitary blood transfusions, many government run, in the central provinces of Anhui and Henan from 1993 to 1995.
In June 2002, the United Nations warned of the disease's rapid spread through China, estimating the number of people infected with HIV would reach 10 million by 2010 without effective preventative measures.
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